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The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center campus is seen, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Diverted ambulances. Cancer treatment delayed. Electronic health records offline. These are just some of ripple effects of an apparent cyberattack on the major nonprofit health system that disrupted operations throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register said the incident occurred Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, and forced the diversion of five ambulances from the emergency department of the city's Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities.

The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center campus is seen, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Diverted ambulances. Cancer treatment delayed. Electronic health records offline. These are just some of ripple effects of an apparent cyberattack on the major nonprofit health system that disrupted operations throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register said the incident occurred Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, and forced the diversion of five ambulances from the emergency department of the city's Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities.

The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center campus is seen, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Diverted ambulances. Cancer treatment delayed. Electronic health records offline. These are just some of ripple effects of an apparent cyberattack on the major nonprofit health system that disrupted operations throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register said the incident occurred Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, and forced the diversion of five ambulances from the emergency department of the city's Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities.

CHICAGO (AP) — Details of an apparent cyberattack on one of the largest health systems in the U.S. were slow to emerge as security experts on Friday warned that it often takes time to assess the full impact on patients and hospitals.

Earlier this week, CommonSpirit Health confirmed it experienced an “IT security issue” but it has yet to answer detailed questions about the incident, including how many of its 1,000 care sites that serve 20 million Americans may have been affected. The health system giant, which is the second largest nonprofit health system in America, has 140 hospitals in 21 states.

“It actually takes a while to fully know the scope because you’re in the middle of trying to restore all your systems,” said Allan Liska, an analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. “You’re trying to get patient care up and running. You’re trying to get your nurses and your doctors back to the systems they need.”

Healthcare organizations are an appealing target for cyber attackers — particularly those who use malware to lock up a victim organization's files and leverage the information for a payment. Ransomware has remained a persistent threat for the industry, which is among the 16 sectors the U.S. government classifies as critical infrastructure.

“Ransomware actors know that’s going to cause a lot of disruption,” Liska said.

Health care systems in 2021 saw an unusually high amount of attacks, with 285 publicly reported worldwide, Liska added. So far, Liska's firm has tracked 155 this year with an average of 20 attacks happening a month. However, he estimated that only about 10% of ransomware attacks are publicized.

Cybersecurity experts said years of work have built health care leaders' trust in the FBI and other federal agencies focused on cyber crime.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on whether they were investigating the CommonSpirit Health cyberattack.

John Riggi, the American Hospital Association's national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, said he could not discuss CommonSpirit specifically. In general, though, he said it can take days, weeks or more to discover how an attacker gained access, determine what damage has been done and prevent further harm.

Riggi, who spent nearly 30 years with the FBI, called any significant cyber attack on a hospital “a potential risk to patient safety" and said the U.S. government takes that seriously. Their goal, he said, is to identify the attacker and make their identity and methodology public.

“They don't want to show their hand, what they know about the bad guys,” he said. “You're really processing a crime scene in real time.”

But there are risks to victims of cyber attacks who fail to communicate their response plan and strategies for recovery, said Mike Hamilton, the chief information security officer with Critical Insights Cybersecurity in Washington state.

The reaction of patients, staff and affiliated health care operations to the chain's handling of the incident all could affect the company's future survival, he said.

"Here’s how close we are to resolution, here’s where we’re diverting, here are the other hospitals we’re partnering with," Hamilton said. “They need to be sure they’re communicating ... because so many people are being impacted by this.”

Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tenn.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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A former Tennessee state trooper has gone missing after he was sentenced for a misdemeanor assault conviction on a charge that he pulled the face mask off a protester during the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020. Columbia Police said Monday that 54-year-old Harvey Briggs was last seen in the city on Oct. 1, the day after receiving a six-month probation sentence, and was driving a black 2015 Ford Fusion. He pleaded no contest in the case on Sept. 15. Police say, Briggs made “several concerning statements” to his family before he left, and that they haven’t heard from him since. Briggs' attorney decline to comment Tuesday.

Experts agree that lack of access to nutritious food in certain areas, the impacts of poor eating habits during the pandemic and intense weight-related stigma are worsening childhood obesity challenges.

THURSDAY, Oct. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you have dogs, you probably already know that petting them can give you a lift.

This year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Swedish scientist Svante Paabo for his discoveries on human evolution. Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee, announced the winner Monday at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The medicine prize kicked off a week of Nobel Prize announcements. It continues Tuesday with the physics prize, with chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the economics award on Oct. 10.

TUESDAY, Oct. 4, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- Seeking to clarify connections between pre-existing heart disease and COVID-19, a study of critically ill patients has found their risk of dying from COVID-19 may stem not directly from heart disease, but from the factors that contribute to it.

Two New York hospitals have agreed to pay more than $165 million to 147 former patients who have accused a former gynecologist of sexual abuse and misconduct. Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian announced the agreement Friday. Robert Hadden surrendered his medical license after being convicted in 2016 on sex-related charges. He currently awaits trial on separate federal charges of sexually abusing dozens of young and unsuspecting female patients for over two decades. Previously, the two hospitals reached a settlement to establish a $71 million compensation fund with 79 of Hadden's former patients.

Folks who drink two or three cups of coffee daily appear to live longer than people who don’t, new research shows. Get more on that and other health news here.

Kansas’ Democratic governor is trying to regain control of a debate over education in her tough race for reelection. That race recently featured Republican attacks over transgender athletes and what’s taught in the classrooms instead of her preferred focus on increases in public school spending on her watch. In their final debate, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly sought Wednesday to portray Republican challenger Derek Schmidt as a threat to adequate funding for public schools. Schmidt said he is committed to adequate funding but argued that Kansas should protect parents' rights. A GOP proposal vetoed by Kelly would have made it easier for parents to object to classroom materials or library books.

An outspoken Christian conservative attorney from Alabama wants a federal appeals court to revive a Louisiana pastor's damage claims against state officials over long-expired COVID-19 restrictions. A federal judge has twice dismissed Tony Spell's lawsuit against Gov. John Bel Edwards and others over enforcement of the ban. Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice and Senate candidate, insisted in arguments this week that the state had no authority whatsoever to restrict church gatherings. Appeals court judges appeared skeptical of that claim in arguments this week. But they raised the question of whether Spell's church was unfairly restricted when compared with other public gathering places.

A new report says Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker paid for an abortion for his girlfriend in 2009. Walker has vehemently opposed abortion rights and calls the accusation in The Daily Beast a “flat-out lie." The Daily Beast spoke to a woman who said Walker paid for her abortion when they were dating. The news outlet also reviewed a receipt showing her $575 payment for the procedure, along with a get-well card from Walker and her bank deposit records showing the image of a $700 personal check from Walker. Asked Monday night by Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity whether he remembered sending a $700 check, Walker says he sent people money all the time.

The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center campus is seen, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Diverted ambulances. Cancer treatment delayed. Electronic health records offline. These are just some of ripple effects of an apparent cyberattack on the major nonprofit health system that disrupted operations throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register said the incident occurred Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, and forced the diversion of five ambulances from the emergency department of the city's Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities.

The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center campus is seen, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Diverted ambulances. Cancer treatment delayed. Electronic health records offline. These are just some of ripple effects of an apparent cyberattack on the major nonprofit health system that disrupted operations throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register said the incident occurred Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, and forced the diversion of five ambulances from the emergency department of the city's Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities.

The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center campus is seen, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Diverted ambulances. Cancer treatment delayed. Electronic health records offline. These are just some of ripple effects of an apparent cyberattack on the major nonprofit health system that disrupted operations throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register said the incident occurred Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, and forced the diversion of five ambulances from the emergency department of the city's Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities.

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