Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.
More than one month after a ransomware attack caused an extensive network outage, Lurie Children's Hospital announced progress in restoring key systems, but explained its online patient portal wasn't up and running yet.
A spokesperson said Monday that Lurie recently reactivated Epic, its electronic health record platform, along with other key systems, and that its phone system had been completely restored.
However, MyChart - the online portal where patients can access medical records, test results and other information - remained offline.
"Our teams continue working around the clock to reactivate all remaining systems, including MyChart, as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said, in part. "As an academic medical center, our systems are highly complex and, as a result, the restoration process takes time..."
The hospital shut down its own systems for phone, email and medical records once the cyberattack was discovered on Jan. 31, officials said.
In a Feb. 14 update, the hospital said it began seeing some services return, though many remained down. At that time, a hospital spokesperson confirmed email to external email addresses and a majority of phones had been restored.
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Such extortion-style ransomware attacks are popular among ransomware gangs seeking financial gain by locking data, records or other critical information, and then demanding money to release it back to the owner.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warned in a report last year that health care providers have increasingly been targeted by criminals, causing delayed or disrupted care for patients across the country.
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Allan Liska, an analyst with cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, said victims often are advised not to name specific criminal groups, but said the description Lurie officials provided suggests it's an operation well known to U.S. law enforcement.
“Even though we all know most hospitals, with some exceptions, don't have spare cash to pay a large ransom, they're much more aggressive than they used to be when going after health care providers,” Liska said of ransomware gangs' strategies.
Lurie previously directed patients to use a call center and said it could help people refill prescriptions, discuss appointments and reach health care providers. But some parents have reported the center isn't keeping up with their needs, leaving families uncertain when they can get answers.
Patients, families and community providers in need of assistance can call 1-800-543-7362 between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday.
