McLaren recovering from ransomware attack, unclear about data security
Michigan-based McLaren Health Care announced it is back to normal operations after a ransomware attack on Aug. 7 forced it to limit care delivery operations. The restoration was completed ahead of schedule, as McLaren previously said the outage would last through August.
The outage had significantly impacted all 13 McLaren hospitals, in addition to its physician practices, care centers and imaging facilities. Despite being back to normal, the health system said it will take time to get patient medical records updated, as it had been manually charting due to its electronic medical record system being down.
“With this return to normal operations, all temporary procedures enacted during the disruption have been lifted. Providers at all McLaren Health Care hospitals, Karmanos cancer centers, and outpatient clinics again have access to patients’ electronic medical records,” read an updated notice.
McLaren has not yet revealed what patient data was taken by hackers, as it is working with a cybersecurity firm to gather details. Details on what group is responsible and what their demands are have also not been revealed.
“If it is determined that any protected health information (PHI) or personal information was compromised, those individuals will be contacted directly,” the health system said.
The breach marked the second in less than a year for McLaren. Last fall, a similar ransomware attack led to patient records being posted for sale on the dark web.
For more updates, view the breach notification from McLaren here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.