The Cancer Center of Hawaii on Oahu announced Dec. 11 that it had to temporarily suspend cancer radiation services at two treatment centers due to a ransomware attack, according to the Honolulu Civil Beat.
On Nov. 5, ransomware infected the center's computer networks. Because clinicians were unable to access computers, they were also forced to halt radiation services to cancer patients.
The Cancer Center of Hawaii did not disclose how long the computer networks were down. Officials did say that the networks have been restored and are fully operational. A spokesperson from the center said that there is no evidence that patient information was affected.
"We launched an investigation and determined that there was an outside attempt made to encrypt the data on our computers which temporarily disabled our network and our ability to deliver radiation treatments," Carolyn Voulgaridis, executive director of The Cancer Center of Hawaii, told the Honolulu Civil Beat. "While the forensic investigation is ongoing, at this time, there is no indication that patient or employee data was breached, accessed or released."