Hospitals resume accepting patients after malware attack

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) – An Alabama hospital chain is again accepting new patients after paying the ransom in a computer malware attack.

The DCH Health System said Thursday its hospitals in the west Alabama cities of Tuscaloosa, Northport and Fayette had resumed admitting patients. Its imaging and patient scheduling services are going back online Friday.

The system says operations are back to normal 10 days after a ransomware attack encrypted information and prevented its computer systems from communicating with each other.

The hospitals kept treating people, but new patients were sent to alternative locations in Birmingham or Mississippi.

The company hasn’t said how much ransom it paid to regain control of its systems, but an executive says insurance covered the cost.

The three hospitals admitted more than 32,000 patients last year.

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