Avita Health computer network shut down after unauthorized activity detected
The computer network for Avita Health System was down briefly Wednesday after unauthorized system activity was discovered.
Electronic medical records were not affected by the incident, according to a news release prepared by Amanda Hatcher, the health system's director of marketing and community relations.
"At this time, we see no evidence that patient information was removed from our system," Hatcher wrote. "Our IT professionals — together with third party forensic and cybersecurity experts — immediately secured our systems and started restoring operations within a safe and remediated network environment."
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Data in process of safely being restored
The health system employees used their computer downtime procedures to continue caring for patients.
"We apologize for the operational disruption that this event has caused, and may continue to cause, until a full and safe restoration of services has been completed," Hatcher wrote. "We are currently safely restoring our data in accordance with our business continuity and incident response plans, and are working to complete this process as quickly as we can. We expect our systems to be fully restored within a matter of days."
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Network professionals were managing a reputable endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, the press release said, which allowed them to immediately secure the environment and stop the spread of the unauthorized activity.
"We also shut down certain systems as a precaution," Hatcher wrote. "Our internal IT staff and third-party incident response team are currently using the EDR tool to further secure the environment and to ensure the network is contained."
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The health system acknowledged the event was significant for patients and they are becoming increasingly common nationwide, which is why they are taking the appropriate steps to address the situation.
"Our comprehensive investigation is ongoing, and this aspect of the incident response may span several weeks," Hatcher wrote. "Rest assured that we are committed to sharing more information as soon as it becomes available."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Unauthorized system activity detected at Avita; no records affected
