Major US hospital chain goes offline after cyberattack

The US hospital chain Universal Healthcare Services announced in a statement on Monday (local time) that it has gone offline after being a subject to a cyberattack, but its patient care operations have not been affected.

The US hospital chain Universal Healthcare Services announced in a statement on Monday (local time) that it has gone offline after being subject to a cyberattack, but its patient care operations have not been affected. "The IT Network across Universal Health Services (UHS) facilities is currently offline, due to an IT security issue," the statement said.

Universal Healthcare Services explained that it is using back-up procedures, including offline documentation methods, while work is underway to restore online operations. "Patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively. No patient or employee data appears to have been accessed, copied or misused," the statement said.

An employee familiar with the company's response efforts said the cyberattack looks and smells like ransomware and is one of the "largest" medical cyberattacks in the United States, according to media reports.