The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto says most of its priority systems are back up after a ransomware attack affected its operations.
Dr. Ronald Kohn, president and CEO of SickKids, said in a statement Thursday that about 80 percent of the hospital’s priority systems have been restored.
He says the cyber attack, which began on December 18, was contained relatively quickly with minimal disruption to patients and families.
On Saturday, LockBit, a ransomware group that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation called one of the most active and destructive in the world, issued a brief apology and offered SickKids a free decryptor to unlock the data.
Cohn says the hospital did not use the decryptor, did not pay any ransom, and its technology team is working to restore the remaining systems.
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He says patients and families are unlikely to experience significant impacts to their care, and most of the hospital’s clinical teams no longer use stand-by procedures.
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“I am very grateful that we were able to call Code Gray All Clear relatively quickly with minimal disruption to patients and families,” Cohn said.
“Without the extremely hard work of our staff and the expertise of outside counsel over the holidays, we would not have been able to remove Code Gray as effectively as we did.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to our staff, patients, families and community partners for their patience and support, and to the wider community for the tremendous offers of help and expertise over the past two weeks.”
Cohn said the investigation into what happened is ongoing.
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He said the hospital called Code Gray when the cybersecurity attack was first discovered on Dec. 18 and initiated its plan to address it, including consulting with third-party cybersecurity experts.
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Cohn said the hospital’s electronic medical records were not affected.
LockBit has been linked to recent cyberattacks against municipalities in Ontario and Quebec, experts say, and a Russian-Canadian citizen was arrested in October for his alleged involvement in the group.
U.S. officials say the group demanded at least $100 million in ransom and extorted tens of millions from victims.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
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