Parents struggle to get care after cyberattack on Chicago children’s hospital

Chicago’s biggest children’s hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s, has entered its second week of reduced service as it tries to recover from a cyberattack.

Most of the hospital’s internet-connected equipment, including phones, email access and electronic health records, have been offline since the start of the incident, the hospital has said, making it significantly more difficult for parents to stay in touch with their doctors. Many appointments and surgeries are still being honored, the hospital said Monday.

“There is a special place in hell for a person who attacks a children’s hospital and disrupts medical care for thousands of innocent children,” said Deborah Land, whose teenage daughter is a patient at the hospital.

On its website, the hospital said, “Lurie Children’s is actively responding to a cybersecurity matter. We are taking this very seriously, are investigating with the support of leading experts, and are working in collaboration with law enforcement agencies. As part of our response to this matter, we have proactively taken network systems offline which is currently impacting our phone, email and electronic systems.”

A spokesperson for the hospital told NBC News by text message that Lurie Children’s took its systems offline Jan. 31, meaning that it has been operating at significantly reduced capability for more than a week.

In a press release put out Thursday afternoon, the hospital confirmed that its network was accessed by "a known criminal threat actor."

Experts say the incident is consistent with a ransomware attack. Ransomware hackers, often located in Russia, where they’re safe from extradition to other countries, frequently take over hospital networks and demand payment in cryptocurrency.

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