The five southwestern Ontario hospitals targeted in an ongoing cyberattack confirmed Wednesday that all of their clinical and non-clinical systems were affected in the blackmail attempt, and the only safe route going forward is to entirely rebuild their networks.
The organizations also stated that determining all of the specific individuals whose data was stolen will likely take months.
“We can confirm that the restoration process (Phase 4) is on track,” the hospitals said in the joint statement. “While it will still take some time before all affected critical systems are completely online, our teams are working around the clock to ensure the process is progressing as quickly and safely as possible. We are also working with leads at each hospital for a seamless return to service.”
In an attempt to blackmail the institutions, hackers stole millions of records from Bluewater Health in Sarnia, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and Windsor Regional Hospital.
The hospital websites all had messages Wednesday stating they were still dealing with system outages and patient scheduling issues following the attack. Windsor Regional Hospital called it a Code Grey, with email systems down and no access to electronic health records.
A cybercrime gang called Daixin Team has claimed responsibility for the attack, which the hospitals detected Oct. 23.
Bluewater Health was the hardest hit, with the theft of a database report including information related to 5.6 million hospital visits by about 267,000 unique patients.
When the hospitals refused to pay a ransom, the criminals started posting the data online. On Wednesday morning, they posted the fourth round in what appears to be five planned releases of information culminating in a “full leak.”
“The investigation into the incident is also in progress to determine the specific individuals whose data may have been taken, and this is expected to take a number of months,” the hospitals said.
Along with stealing sensitive patient information, the hackers locked the hospitals out of their systems.
In their statement on Wednesday, the hospitals said there are five phases to the rebuilding effort. The first was containing the cyberattack, which is now complete.
The other four phases are still ongoing. They include identifying the cause of the cyberattack through a forensic investigation; strengthening the network and additional protections; restoring applications and systems based on clinical priority; and continuing to monitor traffic into and out of the network.
“Delays will be reduced for patients once digital charting is restored,” the hospitals said. “Please note that some patients and families may still experience diagnostic and/or treatment delays while we work to restore all systems. Clinical applications will be coming back online one by one or in clusters as we approach mid-December 2023.”
The hospitals said physicians may still not have access to past patient records or medical histories, current medication lists, reports from other clinicians involved in care, and pre-admission workups.
“While some of our systems are functional, they are slower than usual and require extra time,” the hospitals said. “This affects access to labs and diagnostic imaging.”
The hospitals said that in the absences of necessary information, physicians will cancel some procedures if it’s not safe to proceed.
The hospitals are urging anyone who does not need emergency care to visit their primary care provider or local clinic for healthcare issues.
The hospitals have established a cybersecurity hotline for patients available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. Patients with questions can call 519-437-6212. The agencies said hospital staff should direct questions to their respective human resources teams.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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