Mississippi hospital system closes all clinics after ransomware attack

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A ransomware attack forced the University of Mississippi Medical Center to close all of its roughly three dozen clinics around the state and cancel elective procedures for a second day on Friday, hobbling one of Mississippi's largest healthcare providers.

University officials warned that the shutdown could continue for days as they try to evaluate the extent of the attack and restore network systems they took down as a precaution.

Richard Bell, 55, drove three hours from his home in Oxford on Friday only to learn once he arrived at the hospital that he wouldn't be able to get his bloodwork or chemotherapy treatment.

“It was all shut down,” Bell said. “It gets pretty frustrating.”

Bell, who has a form of lymphoma, wasn't immediately able to reschedule the appointment.

Hospitals and emergency rooms remained open, and patients there were receiving proper care, Vice Chancellor LouAnn Woodward said at a news conference Thursday. She said the attack affected “many systems,” including the electronic health record platform.

“Some of us in the room have been here long enough that we remember taking care of patients with pen and paper,” she said.

Authorities are trying to determine whether patients' private information was accessed, Woodward said.

She said the attackers had communicated with the university, but she did not disclose their demands. The university is working with the FBI. Emails to the medical center and FBI on Friday were not immediately returned.

The FBI's top priority is getting systems back up to restore patient care, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff said at Thursday's news conference.