Ransomware attack leads Southern blood center urgently searching for donors
A blood bag containing group AB blood, Blood group AB contains both A and B antigens and has no Antibodies present (Photo by Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - A not-for-profit blood center serving much of the southeastern United States is facing a ransomware attack, officials said Wednesday.
OneBlood said the attack had disabled its information technology, forcing it to operate at a reduced capacity in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. To manage its blood supply, the blood center was asking more than 250 hospitals to activate their critical blood shortage protocols.
While the blood center remains operational and is still able to collect, test, and distribute blood, officials say the attack left them at a "significantly reduced capacity."
The blood center also was using manual processes to maintain basic operations, officials said.
"We have implemented manual processes and procedures to remain operational. Manual processes take significantly longer to perform and impacts inventory availability. In an effort to further manage the blood supply we have asked the more than 250 hospitals we serve to activate their critical blood shortage protocols and to remain in that status for the time being," Susan Forbes, OneBlood’s senior vice president of corporate communications and public relations, said in a statement.
OneBlood is working with cybersecurity specialists as well as federal, state and local agencies to determine the scope of the attack and how to respond.
"We are working diligently to restore full functionality to our systems as expeditiously as possible," Forbes said.
Blood centers across the U.S. were sending extra blood and platelets to OneBlood, which said there’s a particular need for O-positive and O-negative blood.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.