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Universal Health Services slammed by massive cyberattack

The hospital chain says no patient or employee data appears to have been accessed.

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Universal Health Systems faced a massive cyberattack over the weekend. 

Angela Lang/CNET

Computer systems at some hospitals began failing over the weekend after Universal Health Systems, a major provider with over 400 locations primarily in the US, was hit by a cyberattack. With systems offline, some impacted hospitals resorted to filing patient information with pen and paper, reported NBC News. 

Universal Health Systems issued a statement on Monday, confirming that its network was offline due to a security incident.

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"The IT Network across Universal Health Services (UHS) facilities is currently offline, due to an IT security issue," the statement said. "We implement extensive IT security protocols and are working diligently with our IT security partners to restore IT operations as quickly as possible."

UHS didn't provide specific information about the security incident in its statement, but NBC reported that it may have been a ransomware attack. 

The company said its facilities are using backup processes, like offline documentation methods in the meantime, and patient care is continuing. No patient or employee data appears to have been "accessed, copied or misused," UHS also said in its statement. 

CNET reached out for additional information and we'll update when we hear back.

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