Ascension apparent cyberattack, patient records access disrupted

MILWAUKEE - Dozens of Ascension hospitals are dealing with an apparent cyberattack.

The health care provider was hacked on Wednesday, May 8, disrupting access to patient records.

It's unclear whether hackers accessed sensitive patient information, but it is clear that the breach interrupts day-to-day operations for hundreds of providers.

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Ascension says it tracked "unusual activity" on Wednesday and ever since, the cybersecurity attack has kept providers locked out of their networks.

FOX6 sat down with the Wisconsin federation of nurses. The group tells FOX6 this forces them to work off of paper records.

It makes the process of giving care much slower and in some cases, patients say their appointments have just been canceled.

Many are still waiting for test results because ascension can't access insurance information without digital resources.

"We think that ascension could have been way more prepared. They have so much money in reserves, they could have they could have been prepared for this. We just feel this is another thing that we're stuck with now because of it," said Connie Smith, President of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses.

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A growing number of hackers have been targeting hospital systems.

The reason why? Consumer experts say it's because scammers can sell patient medical records for lots of money.

Ascension says it's working to uncover what information may have been hacked.

If sensitive information was leaked, Ascension says it will notify its patients.