"Canada's Largest Children's Hospital Struggles to Recover From Pre-Christmas Ransomware Attack"
The largest pediatric hospital in Canada, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, is still recovering from a ransomware attack that was executed on December 18. The hospital, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto, first reported that the attack disrupted multiple network systems, but patient service was not interrupted. The healthcare organization classified the incident as "code grey," indicating a "system failure." Later, officials verified that it was a ransomware attack, but stated that there was no evidence that patients' personal information was compromised. The hospital reported that the attack appears to have affected just a small number of internal clinical and corporate systems, as well as a handful of hospital phone lines and web pages. Government agencies were informed, and a third party was called in to handle the incident. Some of the hospital's web pages were made unavailable, and phone systems were experiencing problems with incoming calls. Since the first announcement of the attack, the organization has posted updates on its website and Twitter account. The hospital acknowledged on December 23 that it would take weeks before all systems were running regularly again. It was noted that clinical and operational teams are implementing backup measures for inaccessible systems. The attack hindered doctors' access to lab and imaging reports, resulting in longer wait times for patients. In addition, the processes for sending prescriptions were affected. This article continues to discuss the impact of the ransomware attack on Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.