One of Mississippi's largest hospital systems, Singing River Health System, fell victim to a cyberattack that started the previous week, leading to the shutdown of various internal services. Singing River Health System manages several hospitals including Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, and Gulfport Hospitals, along with numerous clinics and centers along the Gulf Coast.
The hospital system initially detected suspicious activity on its network and engaged law enforcement agencies to address the situation. Officials confirmed that they had to take specific internal systems offline as a response to the cyberattack. Downtime procedures were implemented to continue patient care, while the IT security team worked around the clock to address the issue.
It remained unclear whether the attack involved ransomware or if a ransom would be paid. The hospital's spokesperson declined to provide details about the nature of the attack or the federal law enforcement agencies involved. All systems were reported to be offline, including the MySingingRiver chart system, impacting various operations such as lab test results and radiology exams.
Singing River Health System is a significant emergency department serving over 100,000 patients annually. The region had experienced multiple cyberattacks targeting healthcare facilities, including a recent ransomware attack on a major hospital network that caused patient diversions and operational limitations.
Recognizing the threat to healthcare organizations, government entities like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have prioritized protecting hospitals against cyber threats. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released guides on ransomware gangs targeting healthcare facilities and provides advanced threat intelligence to hospitals to prevent ransomware attacks.
To enhance cybersecurity capabilities in healthcare, HHS launched the DIGIHEALS project, which seeks to apply proven technologies from national security to civilian health systems and medical devices, aiming to bridge the technical gap in defending against emerging cyber threats.
