UF Health Forced to Shut Down Parts of Network Following Ransomware Attack
The University of Florida Health was a victim of ransomware attack that impacted the IT networks of two hospitals.
The UF Health is a medical network associated with the University of Florida and includes two academic hospitals.
According to a report, the UF Health The Villages Hospital and the UF Health Leesburg Hospital were a victim of a ransomware attack that affected some parts of their IT networks, disrupting access to the systems and email services and had to be shut down as a consequence.
UF Health Central Florida were quick to shut down the networks in an attempt to mitigate the potential for damage, as per UF Health. “On the night of May 31, UF Health Central Florida detected unusual activity involving its computer servers. Our information technology team is collaborating with IT experts on our Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses to investigate the situation and mitigate any potential risks,” said UF Health in their statement.
According to the report, there is no reason to believe that UF Health in Gainesville or Jacksonville was compromised, although the backup systems are up and running in hospitals where the suspicion of attack exists.
“In an abundance of caution, we have suspended access to some of our Central Florida systems, including email, and have implemented our backup procedures as our teams continue to work to ensure that all data and networks are secure.”
Although UF Health did not disclose any more details on the attack, it is reported that both the hospitals are still providing services to existing and new patients, albeit by using conventional method.
