Laura Douglass reports:
A computer malware virus that has devastated a number of businesses across the globe has been disrupting operations the last several days at FirstHealth of the Carolinas and a number of doctors’ offices across the Sandhills.
The malware virus was detected in the organization’s computer network midday Tuesday and the system has remained offline while it is scrubbed of the threat.
The malware has been identified as a new form of “WannaCry,” a ransomware virus that initially struck companies around the globe this past May.
Read more on The Pilot.
That report was on October 20. As of this morning, FirstHealth still has a downtime notice/alert on its site, but it is the notice of October 20 and does not appear to have been updated. The notice reads, in part:
We are experiencing some delays and appointment cancellations as a result of the downtime event. This does not apply to critical and emergent needs. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Our team is working tirelessly to remediate the virus and get our system back up to be fully operational. Updates on our progress will be available on FirstHealth’s website and social media pages.
I’m not sure about Facebook because I don’t use it, but there’s no notice of the problem on Twitter, nor any update there, so it sounds like FirstHealth is still working to remediate the problem. We wish them all the best in their efforts.