Hackers crept in the computer systems on Monday at a major hospital chain, MedStar Health Inc., forcing records systems to shut down. The FBI stated that it was probing whether the unknown hackers demanded a ransom to restore the systems of the hospital.
According to ABC NEWS, the FBI claimed that it is investigating a computer virus that has forced a massive shut down of a computer system of the hospital, which is considered as the major hospital chain in the Baltimore-Washington area. "The FBI is aware of the incident and is looking into the nature and scope of the matter," the FBI Baltimore Field Office, which is the head for the FBI on the investigation, revealed in its statement.
MedStar Health's IT system was invaded by a virus. The hospital said that the virus has prevented a lot of its users from logging into its system.
MedStar operates the biggest chain hospitals in the Baltimore-Washington region. It claimed that its action to temporarily shut down its network was an effort to prevent further spread of the virus.
"We are working with our IT and Cyber-security partners to fully assess and address the situation," MedStar stated. However, the hospital went to admit on its Twitter account that there is no evidence of compromised information and that all of its facilities remained open even though it shut down. "The organization has moved to back-up systems, paper transactions where necessary," the company added.
WASHINGTON'S TOP NEWS reported that the FBI was assessing whether the virus was so-called "ransomware." With such virus, the hackers will extort money in exchange for returning the victim's system to normal.
The law enforcement official also spoke on a condition of anonymity since the person was not authorized to uncover publicly the details about the ongoing criminal probe. "We can't do anything at all. There's only one system we use, and now it's just paper," stated one MedStar employee.
Meanwhile, MedStar's spokeswoman, Anne Nickels, stated that for now, she could not say whether it was a ransomware attack. But Nickels insisted that the hospital is making sure that no patient was affected about the incident and that the hospitals were using a paper backup system.
