Hackers Cripple Five Ontario Hospitals by Hitting a Single Service Provider

Five hospitals in Canada are unable to continue normal caretaking of patients due to a cyberattack against their joint service provider. Non-emergency patients are told to visit their local clinic.

TransForm Shared Service Organization is a shared service organization founded by five hospitals in Erie St. Clair, Ontario, to manage their IT, supply chain and accounts payable needs.

In a news release issued Monday, the company revealed it suffered a cyber-intrusion that disrupted services across the medical units it serves.

“We are providing an update on the technical issues we are experiencing,” reads the notice. “As the shared service provider we have determined that our member hospitals are experiencing a cyberattack. Unfortunately, this incident is impacting their provision of care in various ways.”

A joint statement by Bluewater Health, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital confirms the news:

“A shared service provider used by all our hospitals is experiencing a cyberattack,” the press release states. “Unfortunately, this incident is impacting our provision of care in various ways.”

Patients who have care scheduled in the next few days are asked to be flexible as the group will contact them to reschedule or arrange alternatives.

“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,” according to the memo.

The hospitals ask non-emergency patients to also be forbearing, directing them to their “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.”

Little is known about the attack itself, with TransForm saying it is still investigating the cause and scope, including whether patient information was affected.

Neither the hospitals nor their service provider are willing to speak to the media for the time being, promising only to issue further updates as the investigation uncovers what happened to its IT systems and why they suddenly found themselves in the hackers’ crosshairs.

Most such incidents eventually turn out to be a ransomware operation, so it wouldn’t be surprising to soon see the hospitals’ data up for sale on the dark web with a ransom note asking TransForm and its founders to shell out some crypto in exchange for silence.

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