The New York Blood Center (NYBC), a leading nonprofit blood bank in the U.S., has reported experiencing disruptions in services following a ransomware attack.
In a statement released on Wednesday, NYBC revealed that it identified unusual activities within its IT infrastructure on January 26, which has now been confirmed as a ransomware incident.
“We took swift actions to mitigate the threat, which included shutting down specific systems,” the organization stated in its announcement.
As a provider of blood to more than 200 hospitals across the northeastern United States, and transfusion services to over 500 hospitals nationwide, NYBC has alerted stakeholders that this incident has resulted in operational challenges. The nonprofit noted that activities at donation centers and blood drives might need to be postponed, with processing times for blood donations potentially being “longer than usual.”
NYBC is actively working towards reestablishing its systems as swiftly as possible but cautioned that “we do not currently have an estimated timeframe for recovery.”
This announcement follows NYBC’s declaration of a blood emergency last week, which stemmed from a reported 30% decline in donations that the organization claims has “crippled the region’s blood supply.” NYBC emphasized that all blood types are urgently needed, with some categories being “dangerously low” in availability, as stated in a press release.
“We recognize the essential nature of our services, and ensuring the health of our communities is our utmost priority,” stated the blood center in Wednesday’s update. “We are maintaining direct contact with our hospital partners and are developing alternative solutions to restore services and meet demand.”
The identity of those responsible for the cyberattack remains unclear, and as of now, no prominent ransomware group has claimed responsibility. It is also uncertain if any patient data was compromised during the attack or if NYBC received a ransom request. TechCrunch has yet to receive a response from NYBC regarding these inquiries.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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