A Chicago children's hospital has taken its networks offline after a digital attack

A Chicago children’s hospital has been forced to take its networks offline after an unspecified digital attack

CHICAGO -- A Chicago children's hospital has been forced to take its networks offline after an unspecified digital attack, limiting access to medical records and hampering communication by phone or email since the middle of last week.

Lurie Children's Hospital initially described the issue Wednesday as a network outage. On Thursday, officials released public statements saying the hospital had taken its networks offline as part of its response to a “cybersecurity matter."

“We are taking this very seriously, investigating with the support of leading experts, and are working in collaboration with law enforcement agencies,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday. “As Illinois’ leading provider for pediatric care, our overarching priority is to continue providing safe, quality care to our patients and the communities we serve. Lurie Children’s is open and providing care to patients with as limited disruption as possible.”

On Friday, the hospital announced a separate call center for patients to get prescriptions refilled or ask non-urgent questions about care or appointments.

Media representatives for the hospital did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press on Monday seeking more information, including whether the attack was caused by ransomware. The extortion-style attack is popular among those seeking financial gain by locking data, records or other critical information then demanding money to release it back to the owner.