Scripps Health, a leading Californian healthcare provider, has been hit by a cyberattack that forced the company to postpone appointments and take all of its systems offline. Scripps Health disclosed the attack over the weekend, stating that it detected suspicious activity on Saturday and was pushed to suspend some of its applications such as MyScripps and scripps.org. The company stated that although technology applications were offline, patient care was conducted safely at all Scripps facilities and was not affected by the attack.
New patient appointments scheduled for Monday were postponed due to the attack. Local reports state that the cause of the attack was ransomware. Scripps confirmed that patients with life-threatening conditions would be diverted elsewhere when possible due to the increased risk following a cyberattack. The healthcare sector continues to be a major target for threat actors seeking to leverage the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic for their own gain. Cyberattacks on healthcare organizations have surged by a higher rate in 2020 than those targeting any other industry, according to research conducted at CheckPoint.
Read More: Scripps Health Knocked Offline by Ransomware
