Ascension ransomware attack exposes medical data of 5.6 million
US healthcare organisation Ascension was hit by a ransomware attack in May 2024, disrupting clinical operations and access to electronic health records and forcing it to suspend some non-emergency procedures. It was confirmed that an employee had mistakenly downloaded a malicious file and that data had been leaked in a Black Basta ransomware attack. Access to electronic health records was restored in some regions in June, and it was later confirmed that the medical information of 5.6 million people had been leaked. In September 2025, a court ruled to allow a related class action to proceed.
Key facts
- Affected organisation
- Ascension
- Incident type
- Ransomware
- Occurred / detected
- Not confirmed
- Scale of damage
- Medical information of 5.6 million people leaked and clinical operations disrupted
- Cause / method
- Malicious file mistakenly downloaded by an employee and Black Basta ransomware attack
- Location
- United States
If your data was exposed
Exposed dataHealth & medical data
- Don’t tap links in texts, calls or emails that mention this incident and offer compensation, refunds or breach checks. Check directly on the organisation’s official website or app.
Timeline
- Ascension's investigation into a cyber-attack and disruption to hospital operations came to light.
- Some non-emergency procedures were suspended in the wake of the cyber-attack.
- Ascension restored access to electronic health records in some regions.
- Data leakage from the Black Basta attack and the employee's mistaken download of a malicious file were confirmed.
- It was confirmed that the medical information of 5.6 million people had been stolen in the ransomware attack.
- A court allowed a class action over the Ascension cyber-attack to proceed.
Also affected by this incident
Providence Hospital restores medical records after Ascension attack fallout
↳ Knock-on damage from the Ascension incident · View original incidentImpact: Electronic medical records system outage
Following the cyber-attack on Ascension, USA Health Providence Hospital's electronic medical records system experienced an outage. The hospital's electronic medical records system was later restored.
Read on Fox 10 News ↗
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Other incidents at Ascension
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A data breach occurred at Ascension Health in 2024. The lawsuit filed by affected patients has advanced in the proceedings; the specific scale of the breach and response measures have not been confirmed.
Read on Bloomberg Law News ↗Ascension Health announces data breach
Ascension Health announced a data breach. The timing of the incident, the types of data exposed, the scale of the damage and the specific response measures have not been confirmed.
Read on NBC 5 Chicago ↗Breach at former Ascension supplier exposes data of 437,329 patients
437.3kImpact: Personal information, Social Security numbers, and medical and insurance information of 437,329 patients
A data breach at a former supplier of Ascension exposed the information of 437,329 patients. The leaked data included personal information, Social Security numbers, and medical and insurance information, and exploitation of a software vulnerability at the supplier was identified as the cause. Ascension notified affected patients of the breach.
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The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organisation’s official statements for accurate details.