OneBlood 'Ransomware Event' Forces Hundreds of Hospitals to Activate Blood Shortage Protocols

The Orlando-based nonprofit OneBlood says it's still operating but at "a significantly reduced capacity."

Orlando-based OneBlood is recovering from a "ransomware event" discovered on Monday and it's asking the more than 250 hospitals it supplies to "activate critical blood shortage protocols" as cybersecurity teams determine the extent of the attack.

Spokeswoman Susan Forbes says the nonprofit blood center is still operating and collecting and distributing blood but "at a significantly reduced capacity."

"We have implemented manual processes and procedures to remain operational," Forbes says, adding that these stopgap measures "take significantly longer to perform and impact inventory availability."

"In an effort to further manage the blood supply we have asked the more than 250 hospitals we serve to activate their critical blood shortage protocols and to remain in that status for the time being," Forbes says.

OneBlood did not say what the hackers were demanding or if a ransom was paid.

This week's attack on OneBlood is the latest in a string of high-profile cyberattacks targeting healthcare-related entities. The Change Healthcare hack in March paralyzed large swaths of the nation's care delivery system and cost parent UnitedHealth about $2.5 billion, including $22 million in ransom payoffs.

'A National Security Concern'

Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, says OneBlood became aware of the hack on Monday, which investigators, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have traced back to Russia.

Mayhew says OneBlood handles about 80% of the blood supply for Florida hospitals and also supplies three other southeastern states. The blood center "was completely shut down" in the hours after the attack but has gradually brought services back on-line, Mayhew says.

"What we've heard is that they now have control over all their systems taken back from the cybercriminal," Mayhew says. "They are optimistic day-over-day, that their capacity will continue to increase as they are able to bring their systems back online.

"They are unable to give a date certain, but they believe it's a matter of days, not weeks. But we could continue to operate well below 100% of what a hospital typically receives and depends on for blood supply for at least another three to five days."

To compensate, Mayhew says the National Blood Task Force has been activated.

"They are drawing from the Red Cross and other blood centers and other national resources to try to get some blood into Florida," she says. "The biggest major concern is platelets. Platelets have a very short shelf life by days, and it's important to understand that for transplant surgeries, for open-heart surgeries, for certain cancer treatments, platelets are absolutely critical."

Mayhew says the OneBlood attack "really reinforces a focus on this as a national security concern."

"By that, I mean this is affecting our public health infrastructure when you are threatening the life-saving resource of the supply of blood," she says. "Just as we would have a national security response if there was an attack to our electrical grid or any other infrastructure that we depend on, this is obviously life and death when they jeopardize and undermine the supply of blood in our country."