A January cyberattack against Flint, Mich.-based Hurley Medical Center caused delays in the hospital's emergency room and lunch service for certain patients, according to documents obtained by MLive.
"Patient care was not compromised," hospital spokeswoman Ilene Cantor, told MLive. "HurleyMedicalCenter has established policies and procedures to deal with routine and non-routine computer downtime. The areas that were impacted utilized the established downtime procedures and the most significant impact was a delay in meal tray delivery on Jan. 16. All other areas were able to continue care utilizing downtime procedures and additional staff."
On Jan. 20, hacktivist group Anonymous released a video announcing the launch of #OpFlint, which threatened action against those responsible for the water crisis and thousands of lead poisoning cases in the town. Although the group didn't initially claim responsibility for the attack on HurleyMedicalCenter, a Jan. 21 internal hospital email alleges the group did in fact claim credit for the hospital attack and cyberattacks against BakerCollege, the City of Flint and the State of Michigan, according to MLive.
Additional emails show hackers attempted to access personal staff accounts and obtain employee data. They also attempted to target staff members by calling their home and cell phones and reaching out via social media, according to the email.