UT Health East Texas stops emergency room services, suspected cyberattack

Since Thanksgiving Day, the UT Health East Texas hospital network has ceased accepting ambulances in its emergency rooms due to an ongoing investigation into a potential cybersecurity incident. The network includes 10 hospitals and over 90 clinics, experienced a network disruption beginning Thursday.

Yes, UT Health East Texas is part of Ardent Health Services. Ardent Health Services is a private healthcare company based in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 1993. It owns and operates hospitals across several states, including Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Idaho, Kansas, New Jersey.

The network is maintaining operations through established emergency protocols while efforts to resolve the computer issues continue.

The network has withheld further details on the nature and response to the incident. Initial expectations were to restore computer networks within 24-36 hours, but the timeline for resolution remains uncertain.

This incident adds to a growing list of cyberattacks affecting hospitals in recent months and critical infrastructure operators during the holiday period, a time when cybersecurity teams are reduced and the threat of attacks like ransomware is particularly high.