Crisp Regional Health Services falls victim to ransomware attack

CORDELE, Ga. (WALB) - Crisp Regional Health Services was recently the victim of a ransomware attack, which affected some of the systems and encrypted files, according to a release from the hospital.

“Workflow was never compromised, patient care was never compromised,” said Brooke Marshall, the community relations and foundation director.

Officials said they found out about the attack Wednesday morning when “nurses started seeing files being encrypted.”

The hospital said once they learned about the incident, they immediately initiated an internal investigation and engaged data security professionals to assist.

The hospital also said it took action to secure information and to enhance the security measures already in place to protect the network systems and data.

Hospital officials said at this time, there is no evidence that any information has been compromised or is at risk as a result of the incident.

Phone lines were down throughout Crisp Regional Health Services and should be restored by the end of Thursday, the release said.

“We deployed radios throughout the hospital so that our departments and directors would have access to each other,” explained Marshall.

If phone lines are still not up when you call, Marshall recommends, messaging Crisp Regional Hospital through social media. Or, if you know a hospital employee, you can message them to check in on your loved one.

“Since COVID has started, our departments have been very good about using their resources to get in touch with family members,” said Marshall.

The release said the hospital is working closely with external cyber-security professionals and forensic investigators to analyze the systems for any compromise and to determine, what, if any, personal or sensitive information, as well as protected health information, was accessed or acquired as a result of this incident.

This is an ongoing investigation, the hospital said.

WALB News 10 did ask about the ransomware attack itself, but hospital officials couldn’t comment on it right now. According to Dictionary.com, ransomware is malware planted illegally in a computer or mobile device that disables its operation or access to its data until the owner or operator pays to regain control or access.