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Cyberattack on health services provider impacts 5 Canadian hospitals. A cyberattack on shared service provider TransForm has impacted operations in five hospitals in Ontario, Canada, impacting patient care and causing appointments to be rescheduled. TransForm is a not-for-profit, shared service organization founded by five hospitals in Erie St. Clair, Ontario, to manage their IT, supply chain, and accounts payable. Yesterday, the service provider released a statement stating that their IT systems are experiencing an outage due to a cyberattack. TransForm's press release states that patients who have scheduled appointments in the next couple of days might need to make arrangements for a later date. The organization says it is investigating the cause and scope of the incident, and for now, it has not yet been determined if any patient information was affected. The five hospitals impacted by the situation are: A joint statement released by the five hospitals regarding the cyberattack informs patients of problems with scheduled appointments. Those with scheduled appointments will be contacted directly to reschedule, while patients not in an emergency are advised to refrain from visiting the hospitals. "For those patients who have care scheduled in the next few days, we will contact you directly, if possible, to reschedule or provide alternate arrangements," reads the joint press release. "Unfortunately, we may not be able to reach all patients, and we request your understanding if we are required to reschedule care in person at our facilities." "Also, we would continue to ask if you are not needing emergency care to attend your primary care provider or local clinic to reduce the impact upon the Hospitals as we work towards addressing these issues and focus on those needing hospital care." As the nature of the cyberattack and the scope of the incident have not been determined, those who have received healthcare services at the mentioned institutions in the past are advised to maintain a watchful stance and treat unsolicited communications with suspicion.  BleepingComputer has contacted TransForm for more details on the cyberattack, but we have not heard back by publication time.

Daily Brief Summary

CYBERCRIME // Cyberattack on Shared Service Provider Disrupts Operations at Five Canadian Hospitals

Ontario-based shared service provider TransForm, a not-for-profit organization that manages IT, supply chain, and accounts payable for five hospitals, has suffered a cyberattack causing an IT outage and subsequent disruption of operations in the hospitals.

The attack has affected patient care, with appointments for non-emergency cases needing to be rescheduled.

TransForm has stated they're investigating the breach, but it remains unclear whether any patient data has been compromised.

All five hospitals who rely on TransForm’s services have been affected and have issued a joint statement to patients detailing the disruption.

Users who have recently received treatments at the hospitals are advised to maintain vigilance and to treat unsolicited communications with suspicion.