Click Here Return to code red: hacking the halls of medicine
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Mar 17, 2026 A small Oregon hospital’s computers go dark after a ransomware hit, forcing staff to switch to pen-and-paper workflows. Engineers trace the breach to a phishing click that spread through imaging systems and Windows servers. The team weighs paying a Ryuk ransom versus rebuilding, salvages most medical images, and spends weeks restoring validated clinical systems.
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Mass Shutdown And Paper Relays Keep Hospital Afloat
- Sky Lakes' IT team shut down 2,500 computers and 600 servers to stop Ryuk from spreading.
- Staff reverted to paper: bought all local paper, used clipboards, and ran physical orders across the hospital to keep care going.
Shut Networks Offline Immediately To Stop Spread
- When ransomware is detected, isolate systems immediately and power down networked machines to stop lateral spread.
- Sky Lakes ordered an urgent offline shutdown after backups were encrypted within minutes.
Backups Can Be Compromised Too
- Attackers can target and encrypt backups quickly, nullifying standard recovery plans.
- Sky Lakes watched their email restore begin and then be re-encrypted within minutes, revealing backups aren't foolproof.