Chicago pediatric hospital Lurie Children’s has been forced to take its network offline in the face of a “cybersecurity matter” as experts warn of heightened threats against health systems across the country.
Late Thursday, Lurie Children’s Hospital, which uses Epic System’s electronic health record software, said it was “actively responding” to the issue and working with experts and law enforcement. While the Illinois hospital is still open, it preemptively disabled its phone, email and electronic medical system, disrupting scheduled surgeries and making it harder for patients’ families to reach doctors, CBSNews reported. The disruptions reportedly began Wednesday.
The news comes as regulators and experts sound the alarm on growing cybersecurity threats. Late last month the Department of Health and Human Services published voluntary cybersecurity goals for the health sector, after a 2023 report warned of “dramatic increases” in cyber attacks that “compromise US hospitals, disrupt operations and extort for financial gain.”
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