ON Thursday, a network of hospitals in the United States were forced to close down their emergency rooms and divert ambulances after cybercriminals attacked the computer systems of prospect medical holdings, a California-based health care provider which has hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.
Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), the network of hospitals acquired by prospect medical holdings in 2016, issued a notice on their website to inform the public of the matter.
They also contacted patients with appointments individually, according to their website.
Many primary care services remained closed on Friday as security experts worked to determine the extent of the problem and resolve it, and prospect medical holdings took their systems offline to protect the data of their patients.
“Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible,” according to Prospect Medical Holdings.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said late Friday that it has also launched an investigation into the breach but could not comment further on the matter while it is still ongoing.
