It took just two minutes for hackers to breach a hospital's network and deploy ransomware on Franklin, Ind.-based Johnson Memorial Health, according to an Oct. 4 Daily Journal report.
About 15 minutes later, the health system's IT team found the attack and shut down the computer system, David Dunkle, MD, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial said.
The health system has not received any requests for ransom as of Oct. 4, according to the report. The system's IT team is preparing for the possibility of having to rebuild the entire system, Dr. Dunkle told the Daily Journal.
Dr. Dunkle said primary care visits are not being rescheduled but some non-emergency procedures are being delayed. There are backups of medical records that allow clinicians to read them. However, they cannot make any edits or add any new information. Hospital staff have reverted to using pen and paper for all paperwork.
Dr. Dunkle said that Johnson Memorial has invested heavily in cybersecurity.
"We have not cut corners," he said. "That is one of the things that is most frustrating, that despite the investment in cybersecurity these threat actors were able to circumvent our system," Daily Journal reported.