(The Center Square) – McLaren Health Care, a Michigan-based health system, is the most recent victim of a cyber attack on American medicine.
The network’s 13 hospitals experienced IT outages and phone system issues this week after receiving an alleged ransom letter. McLaren Health Care is a $6.5 billion non-profit, which employees more than 28,000 people across the Michigan-Indiana-Ohio region.
“Immediately after becoming aware of the attack, our hospitals and outpatient clinics instituted downtime procedures to ensure care delivery within our facilities,” the health system’s website reads. “Several information technology systems continue to operate in downtime procedures while we work to fully restore functionality to our system. We have policies and procedures in place and train for information technology disruptions. We are grateful for the response from our frontline caregivers and staff who have come together to provide care under these circumstances.”
The Bay City location was allegedly sent a letter by INC Ransom on Aug. 5, threatening to publish patient data on the dark web if the ransom isn’t paid. The letter provides an encrypted chat link, and tells the company to not call the police or FBI.
“We are not a politically motivated group and we want nothing more than money,” the type-written letter reads.
This isn’t the first time McLaren has been affected by an attack. In Aug. 2023, a data breach stole vital information from 2.2 million patients, including their names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, health insurance and diagnoses. At the time, ransomware group Alphv/Black Cat took credit for the breach.