By Adam Black
Portsmouth Daily Times
PORTSMOUTH — Closures and canceled appointments continued to be announced as Southern Ohio Medical Center continues to recover from a cyber-attack.
On Tuesday, SOMC announced through their social media platforms several services would again be canceled due to the cyber-attacks that took place Thursday, Nov. 11.
“Appointments at the following locations for Wednesday, Nov. 17 were canceled. Affected appointments will be rescheduled as soon as possible,” SOMC posted.
Appointments included the Outpatient Medical Imaging, Outpatient Cardiac Testing, Sleep Lab, Outpatient Rehab in Portsmouth, Wheelersburg, Lucasville and Vanceburg, Pulmonary Function Tests and Antiarrhythmia clinic.
“We ask that our patients and community please remain patient as we work to remedy this situation,” the post read.
The Portsmouth Daily Times reached out to SOMC on Tuesday, Nov. 16 and asked if there were any updates about patients’ records or any progress in restoring the system. SOMC stated that the investigation remains ongoing and asks for patients and the community to remain patient.
“Our investigation into this incident is ongoing. We are currently working around the clock with subject matter specialists to investigate the incident and restore our systems to full functionality. A spokesperson for SOMC stated.
On Thursday, Nov. 11, an unauthorized third party gained access to SOMC’s computer servers in what appeared to be a targeted cyber-attack. SOMC sent out text messages and contacted patients with upcoming appointments stating their appointments were canceled due to an emergency. Several appointments have remained canceled due to the attack, and it is unclear when systems will return.
“We will provide additional information as it becomes available,” SOMC said.
