Ascension Investigating Cyber Security Incident: Update and Response to ‘Unusual Activity’ on Network Systems

Cyber Security Incident at Ascension Causes Disruption at Tulsa Hospital

TULSA, Okla. — Ascension, the parent company of St. John, is currently investigating a cyber security incident after detecting ‘unusual activity’ on certain network systems. The disturbance has led to technical difficulties at the Tulsa hospital, as well as all other Ascension locations.

In response to the incident, Ascension immediately began investigating and activating their ‘remediation efforts’. Emergency and in-house patient care are still operational, but the difficulties have caused longer lines in non-emergency areas and challenges in scheduling new patient appointments.

St. Francis and Hillcrest hospitals have reported a spike in new patients today following the issues at Ascension. The company has enlisted the help of third-party expert Mandiant to assist in the investigation, and authorities have been notified.

Ascension has reassured patients that their care teams are trained to handle disruptions like this and have implemented procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and minimally impacted. If any sensitive information was compromised, Ascension will notify and support those affected.

Business partners of Ascension are advised to temporarily suspend their connection to the Ascension environment until further notice. Ascension has released a statement regarding the network interruption, which can be found on their website.

For more information on the cyber security incident at Ascension, visit their website for the full statement.