New Jersey’s largest health network has grappled with “externally-driven technical issues” which shut down computer systems since Monday, but most services had been restored by late Friday, according to hospital and union officials.
In a statement issued late Friday, Hackensack Meridian Health officials remained mum on the source of the disruptions at its 17 hospitals, nursing homes and urgent care centers, saying they were conducting an investigation.
Only isolated outages involving dietary and appointment reminder systems remained, Hackensack Meridian Health spokeswoman Mary Jo Layton said.
“We have experts engaged to analyze this disruption in our IT system. Once that investigation is complete, we will have more information to share,” according to the hospital network’s statement. “Connection to our core clinical systems are now back online and we are working diligently to restore all functionality.”
“As soon as we learned of the incident, we acted immediately to take protective measures, including bringing down systems as a precautionary measure and implementing back-up procedures,” the statement said.
On Thursday, the union Health Professionals and Allied Employees, or HPAE, described nurses as “extremely concerned.”
“There have been delays in orders, lab work and they are having to double-check paperwork carefully to make sure everything is accurate,"Bridget Devane, HPAE spokeswoman said Thursday night.
On Friday at 5 p.m., Devane confirmed: “northern New Jersey hospitals are definitely back online.” Management informed employees there may be some payroll errors.
About 100 patients rescheduled their elective surgeries, according to the hospital network’s statement.
A hospital IT professional told NJ Advance Media on Thursday that doctors briefed on the disruptions were told Hackensack Meridian’s “systems were shut down across the board” due to a ransomware attack. The IT professional requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
“It involves anything with computer software — scheduling and billing systems and labs and radiology," the IT professional said.
The state Health Department, which licenses hospitals, “is aware of the systemwide computer issues at Hackensack-Meridian Health and is working closely with the leadership team,” state spokeswoman Donna Leusner said late Thursday. Hospitals officials advised that systems were being restored “with plans in place for the restoration of the remaining systems,” she added.
Layton has declined to say whether the nature of the “externally-driven technical issues,” was caused by a ransomware attack.
Ransomware is malicious software, known as malware, that is usually sent under the guise of a legitimate-looking link or email attachment. If clicked or opened, the malware encrypts data on a computer system, often restricting access to the system until a ransom is paid. Hackers also threaten to compromise data in many cases unless the victim agrees to pay the ransom.
Emsisoft, a cybersecurity firm, issued a report in October on the state of ransomware in the U.S. in 2019, documenting at least 621 attacks against government agencies, health care service providers and school districts through the first nine months of the year.
The report said attacks have “caused massive disruption.”
“Municipal and emergency services have been interrupted, medical practices have permanently closed, ER patients have been diverted, property transactions halted, the collection of property taxes and water bills delayed, medical procedures canceled, schools closed and data lost,” the report said.
In October, three hospitals in Alabama temporarily closed their facilities to new patients because of a ransomware attack that impacted the facilities’ computer systems, according to a report by CBS42.com.
Just last week, the Livingston School District’s payroll system was disrupted after a ransomware attack, which ultimately led to a delayed opening of schools. Over the weekend, a performance of “A Christmas Carol” at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey was canceled due to a ransomware attack on the database and ticketing system.
NJ Advance Media staff writers Alex Napoliello and Ted Sherman contributed to this report.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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N.J.’s largest health network was hit with major computer disruptions. Officials won’t say if it was ransomwa - nj.com
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