Signature Healthcare hit by cyberattack, services and pharmacies impacted

Massachusetts’ Signature Healthcare diverts ambulances and cancels services after a cyberattack disrupts hospital operations and pharmacy access.

The hospital Signature Healthcare in Brockton, Massachusetts, diverted ambulances and canceled some services after a cyberattack disrupted operations. Pharmacies couldn’t fill prescriptions, though urgent care and walk-in services remained open.

Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital is a non-profit community teaching hospital in Brockton, Massachusetts, founded in 1896. It has about 216 beds and serves over 20 surrounding communities, offering services such as medical, surgical, pediatric, and obstetric care, along with advanced diagnostics. The hospital is affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and plays a key role in the regional healthcare system.

The hospital, part of a network with 15 locations and 150+ physicians, reported the cybersecurity incident on Monday.

“Signature Healthcare and Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital are currently responding to a cybersecurity incident that has affected certain information systems within our health system.” reads a statement from the healthcare organization. “Upon identifying suspicious activity within a portion of our network, we immediately activated our incident response protocols. We moved to down-time procedures to ensure high-quality patient care and safety. We are working with outside resources to help us investigate the incident and restore operations as quickly as possible.”

The organization has not confirmed a ransomware attack, and the attackers’ motivation are still unknown. At this time, no ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is unclear if threat actors have stolen sensitive data.

Healthcare organizations are prime cybercrime targets due to valuable data, operational urgency, and complex systems. Medical records contain sensitive personal and financial information, making them highly profitable. Hospitals cannot afford downtime, increasing the likelihood of ransom payments. Their large, interconnected networks, legacy devices, and many users expand the attack surface. Combined with often limited cybersecurity maturity, these factors make healthcare an attractive and vulnerable target.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Signature Healthcare)