Kettering Health, one of Ohio’s largest healthcare networks, was forced to cancel numerous inpatient and outpatient procedures on Tuesday after a disruptive ransomware attack crippled its internal systems. The cyberattack triggered a system-wide outage, affecting critical patient care technologies and communication channels across all of Kettering Health’s facilities.
Despite the chaos, emergency rooms and clinics remained operational, though elective procedures had to be called off. The organization also warned patients that its call center had been impacted by the outage, further complicating routine communication.
In a public statement, Kettering Health reassured the community that contingency plans were in place. Staff continued to deliver care to those already admitted, while the organization scrambled to contain the damage.
Later that day, the situation took another unsettling turn. Patients began receiving fraudulent calls from individuals pretending to be Kettering Health staff, asking for payments related to medical bills. The healthcare provider said it could not yet determine if these scam calls were connected to the cyberattack, but urged patients to remain cautious.
“To protect patients, we have suspended all payment-related phone calls until further notice,” Kettering Health said in a security notice.
Although the nonprofit network did not initially reveal who was behind the attack, CNN reported that the Interlock ransomware gang had claimed responsibility. The group is reportedly threatening to leak sensitive data stolen from Kettering’s systems unless their ransom demands are met.
Kettering Health, which employs more than 15,000 people and includes over 1,800 physicians, operates 14 hospitals and more than 120 facilities including clinics, emergency departments, and its own college. The organization has not yet confirmed the extent of the breach or whether patient data was compromised.
As investigations continue, patients are being advised to monitor their accounts closely and report any suspicious communication.
