Hospital ransomware attack led to infant’s death, lawsuit alleges

A lawsuit alleges that a cyberattack on Springhill Medical Center may have caused a fatality, making it the first confirmed death linked to ransomware in the US. The attack in July 2019 disrupted the hospital’s IT systems, resulting in a return to paper charting and compromising the visibility of fetal heartbeat monitors. The lawsuit claims that critical data about an elevated heart rate was unavailable, potentially impacting the outcome of a caesarean section. The hospital denies wrongdoing. A recent report showed a link between ransomware and increased mortality rates.