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A Sydney-based radiology clinic has angered its patients after it failed to inform them of the details of a cyber attack which caused it to close.
Despite saying that the healthcare of its patients is its top priority, Quantum Radiology has kept its patients in the dark since Thursday last week (24 November), cancelling appointments granting no reason.
Customers visiting one of Quantum Radiology’s 10 locations were only met with a sign at the door which said, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, our IT systems are currently down, and we cannot process any patient appointments until further notice.
“Our team is working to resolve this as soon as possible.”
The said “unforeseen circumstances” were confirmed by a spokesperson speaking to 9News came as a result of a cyber attack.
Only today (1 December), following media coverage of the incident and its customers’ distaste, has Quantum Radiology come forward with a public statement.
“Our clinics are temporarily closed as we are investigating a recent cyber incident. As soon as we detected the incident, we took steps to contain it,” the statement released today said.
“Relevant Australian government authorities and the police have been notified.
“Your healthcare needs are our utmost priority. We have notified and are collaborating with referring doctors to assist with your ongoing healthcare needs.
“We are working hard to bring our systems back online. We will re-open once our systems are operational and tested. We anticipate this will be the week of 4th December but will confirm in the coming days and will notify referring doctors accordingly.”
Until the business re-opens, customers will be unable to access their medical results or their scans, which could cause delays for other appointments at other medical institutions.
At this stage, the full nature of the attack is unknown, nor of how the threat actors accessed Quantum Radiology’s systems or if any data has been compromised. The number of affected customers is also unknown.
Additionally, it appears that none of the usual ransomware suspects or other hackers Cyber Daily follows has come forward and taken credit for the attack based on further investigation, which is abnormal given the timeframe.
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