McLaren Health Care Restores Network Weeks After Ransomware Attack

Dive Brief:

• McLaren Health Care is fully operational weeks after a ransomware attack disrupted its information technology systems, the Grand Blanc, Michigan-based operator said Tuesday. 
• The restoration was completed days ahead of schedule. McLaren previously estimated IT disruptions would last through August. 
• Though providers at McLaren’s hospitals, cancer centers and clinics have access to the system’s electronic health record, it could take several weeks to input patient data that was collected manually during the IT outage, the health system said. 

Dive Insight: 

Thirteen-hospital McLaren reported IT and phone system disruptions in early August. The provider later confirmed it had been hit by a cyberattack, and said the attackers used ransomware, a type of malware that denies users access to their data until a ransom is paid.

The latest incident comes about a year after McLaren was hit by another ransomware attack.

The serious consequences of a ransomware attack against a hospital, as well as their role as one of the country’s most critical infrastructure sectors, makes the industry an attractive target for criminals, experts say.

Ransomware attacks against the U.S. healthcare sector increased 128% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center.

During the outage, some McLaren locations diverted ambulances to nearby facilities for certain conditions, the health system said in an Aug. 12 update. 

Some non-emergency appointments, tests and treatments were delayed. The health system also asked patients to bring a list of medications or empty prescription bottles, printed orders for imaging studies or treatments, results of recent lab tests and a list of allergies to their appointments. Patient medical information was manually charted during the IT outage.

The health system is currently working with cybersecurity experts to determine if any patient or employee data was exposed in the cyberattack, McLaren said in a Tuesday update.