SickKids is currently assessing the use of a decryptor given restoration efforts are progressing well.
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is aware of the statement issued online by a ransomware group that included an offer of a free decryptor to restore systems impacted by the cybersecurity incident.
The LockBit ransomware gang apologized for the attack on the hospital and released a decryptor for free.
“We have engaged our third-party experts to validate and assess the use of the decryptor.” said the hospital in a press release.
As of January 1, SickKids has already restored over 60 percent of priority systems; restoration efforts are ongoing and progressing well. There is no evidence to date that personal information or personal health information has been impacted. SickKids has not made a ransomware payment.
This is an active and ongoing incident and SickKids are unable to provide additional information about the nature of the attack at this time. Updates will be shared on the website, www.sickkids.ca, and Twitter, @SickKidsNews, as more information becomes available.
Previous Update:
Websites for the Specialty Food Shop and Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion (IEMHP), both operated by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), have been temporarily unavailable as of 9 p.m. ET on Friday, December 30. They were proactively taken down by SickKids in response to potential unusual activity. This activity does not appear to be related to the cybersecurity incident on December 18.
Until further notice, Specialty Food Shop will be taking orders by email and over the phone. If you need to place an order, please contact sfs.admin@sickkids.ca or 1-800-737-7976. Families who placed an order on Friday, December 30, 2022 are also asked to get in touch about their order status by emailing sfs.admin@sickkids.ca. General inquiries regarding IEMHP can be sent to iemhp.mail@sickkids.ca.
SickKids continuously monitors for unexpected or unusual activity. When this activity was detected, we quickly acted to take both websites offline. Specialty Food Shop, IEMHP and SickKids’ Information Management Technology (IMT) teams are working to bring both sites back online as soon as possible.