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Upstate Medical University in Syracuse has ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the computer problems that disrupted its operations earlier this week. On Tuesday (April 8), a computer malfunction led to the cancellation of outpatient appointments, the temporary closure of the emergency room to some patients, and the suspension of hospital visits. According to Syracuse.com, the hospital's phone and computer networks went down early in the afternoon, affecting the entire Upstate network, which includes two hospitals and numerous specialized centers.
The emergency department stopped accepting new patients, except for Level 1 trauma cases, and ambulances were redirected to other hospitals. By late afternoon, systems were gradually restored, and the emergency room reopened to normal traffic. WSYR-TV reported that the hospital's operations resumed after the network outage was resolved.
While the exact cause of the outage is still under investigation, Upstate Medical University confirmed that it was not due to a cyberattack. The incident comes amid increased concerns about cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, as hospitals across the country have faced similar issues. In February, Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca experienced a potential cyberattack that disrupted its systems temporarily.