Here’s the latest on the cyberattack affecting Mountain View and Idaho Falls Community Hospitals
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IDAHO FALLS — It’s been five days since a cyberattack began affecting operations at Mountain View Hospital, Idaho Falls Community Hospital and their clinics. As of Friday afternoon, there is no indication as to when everything will be back to normal.
The attack forced the closure of Mountain View Redicare and ambulances are being diverted away from Idaho Falls Community Hospital; however, the emergency room remains open so people who drive themselves to the hospital can receive care.
RELATED | Local clinic closes following cyberattack; hospital redirects emergency services
Brian Ziel, a spokesman for the hospitals, tells EastIdahoNews.com Redicare remains closed “so we can focus our attention on one urgent care location near the hospitals.” He points out that Community Care is still open and assisting patients.
While Teton Cancer Institute isn’t closed, the facility has been forced to see only a limited number of patients.
A new statement about the situation was posted Friday afternoon to the Idaho Falls Community Hospital and Mountain View Hospital Facebook pages.
“As soon as (the cybersecurity incident) was detected, we proactively took our systems offline to ensure the stability and security of our IT environment, notified law enforcement and launched an investigation with the help of cybersecurity experts,” the statement says. “Our team is working around the clock to understand the extent and scope of the incident and bring our systems back online.”
The statement says employees are “actively working to bring all systems back online as quickly as possible to minimize the disruption.”
When EastIdahoNews.com asked if the hack involved ransomware, which locks computers so that hackers can demand payments, Ziel said the investigation is ongoing and “as a result, we are unable to provide more details at this time.”
“We are safely caring for all our patients in the hospital, surgeries are continuing as scheduled and our clinics are still providing the treatment patients need,” Ziel said.
Ziel said that if people have an appointment that needs to be rescheduled, they’ll hear from the provider directly. If they don’t hear anything, then they should plan on coming in like normal.
“We apologize for any inconvenience or delays our community may experience because of this incident,” the statement says. “We are actively working to bring all systems back online as quickly as possible to minimize the disruption. We are also looking for opportunities to further enhance our existing security measures through our investigation.”