Surgeries Delayed After Ransomware Attack Targets Hospitals Across The U.S.

The fourth-largest health system in the United States was the victim of a ransomware attack, NBC News reported. The attack forced CommonSpirit Health to take some of its computer systems offline, resulting in numerous issues at several hospitals across the country.

CommonSpirit Health operates over 140 hospitals and more than 1,000 care sites.

The ransomware attack impacted operations at hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, and Seattle, causing surgeons to postpone scheduled operations, doctors to reschedule appointments, and an overall delay in providing patient care.

One woman from Texas told NBC News that the surgeon decided to reschedule her husband's major surgery because the ransomware attack "could potentially delay post-op care, and he didn't want to risk it."

CommonSpirit Health released a statement about the attack but did not provide many details.

"CommonSpirit Health has identified an IT security issue that is impacting some of our facilities. We have taken certain systems offline. We are continuing to investigate this issue and follow existing protocols for system outages. We are grateful to our staff and physicians, who are doing everything possible to minimize the impact to our patients. We take our responsibility to our patients very seriously and apologize for any inconvenience," the company said in a statement.