The ransomware attack on Universal Health Services (UHS) has cost the healthcare service provider a whopping $67 million in damages. Although the net revenue of UHS is nearly $11.6 billion in 2021, the healthcare service provider expects insurance to cover much of the cost. In this article at Dark Reading, the author shares UHS financial report insights and the impact of ransomware on its IT operations.
Financial Damages
A UHS’ fourth-quarter earnings report highlights the ‘significant incremental labor expense’ needed to restore IT operations after the attack. The healthcare service provider emphasized that administrative functions—like billing—were delayed. This, further, had a negative impact’ on the operating cash flows in the fourth quarter.
In its report, UHS did not mention the kind of attack it suffered. Additionally, there was no mention of losses incurred from a paid ransom. “The disruption caused by the attack prompted UHS staff to divert ambulance traffic and elective/scheduled procedures at UHS acute care hospitals to competitor facilities during the recovery time, which UHS said affected its finances,” explains the author. In its initial report, UHS failed to disclose how the incident occurred other than to say it was due to ‘an IT security issue.’
UHS subsidiaries encompass 26 acute care hospitals, 328 behavioral health inpatient facilities, and 42 outpatient facilities and ambulatory care centers in 38 states across the US. Therefore, the impact of the cyberattack is far-reaching.
No Breach Report
The healthcare service provider said it had found no evidence of unauthorized access, copying, or misuse of any patient or employee data.
Safety Measures
Healthcare entities must never overlook the potential safety impact of cyberattacks. Cyber experts believe that the UHS attack created a horrible scenario where critical patient responses were either interrupted or re-routed. Healthcare providers and patients rely on the timely and accurate provision of information for enhanced health outcomes. The data breaches on the sector’s IT services will undoubtedly cripple the institutions. To read the original article, click on https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/universal-health-services-suffered-$67-million-loss-due-to-ransomware-attack/d/d-id/1340285.
