Ransomware Hits DaVita, Kidney Care Provider Serving Hospitals

DaVita Inc. said it has been impacted by ransomware that had locked down parts of its network.

The company, which specializes in providing kidney dialysis to patients at more than 700 hospitals in the US, said in a statement Monday to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the incident was impacting some of its operations.

DaVita said it was working with law enforcement and cybersecurity specialists to recover but didn’t provide a timeline on how long it would take to resolve the disruption.

“Upon discovery, we activated our response protocols and implemented containment measures, including proactively isolating impacted systems,” the company said.

DaVita representatives didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Ransomware is a kind of malicious software deployed by hackers to lock access to files stored on computers by encrypting them. The hackers usually demand payment for a key to unlock the computers, while threatening to publish stolen data online.

Companies and organizations in the health sector have been repeatedly targeted in ransomware attacks, which have sometimes forced postponements to patient treatments and inflicted harms as a result.

Last year, a ransomware hack on UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s Change Healthcare disrupted a system that processes billing and insurance for hundreds of thousands of hospitals and pharmacies.

Topics
Cyber

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