"Texas Hospital Facing Communication Issues, System Rebuild Amid Ransomware Attack"
On September 1, the OakBend Medical Center in Texas faced a ransomware attack, causing communication and IT disruptions. The Texas hospital is using electronic health record downtime procedures as it works to rebuild. When OakBend's IT team discovered the encrypted files and ransom demand, it immediately took all systems offline and placed them in "lockdown mode," as per hospital protocols. Officials emphasized that patient safety was never jeopardized by the incident. The Daixin ransomware group is claiming to have been behind the attack. According to RedSense Intelligence Operations, the incident at OakBend joins an estimated 55 other ransomware attacks against US healthcare entities so far this year. Several lawmakers recently requested an emergency meeting to assess how the health sector is combating the threat of ransomware and what assistance is required to support defense. These attacks, according to industry stakeholders, should renew efforts to update cyber response plans in order to prevent significant disruptions in healthcare operations and impacts on patient safety. This begins with identifying the most mission-critical business processes and devising backup plans to keep services running during a disruption. This article continues to discuss the ransomware attack on the OakBend Medical Center in Texas, other healthcare entities facing similar incidents, and the importance of updating cyber response plans.