Hospitals

• Palo Alto Networks issued emergency patches on April 20, 2026, for a zero-day flaw (CVE-2026-4123) in PAN-OS firewalls, exploited against 50+ US healthcare providers. • Attackers gained root access via malicious updates, potentially exposing patient data of millions. • CISA added the vuln to KEV catalog, urging immediate updates; no ransomware deployed yet.

• CrowdStrike identified a LockBit ransomware campaign targeting 15 major US hospitals on April 8, 2026 evening, disrupting patient records in California and New York. • Attackers exfiltrated 200TB of data including 500,000 patient records before encryption; no patient harm reported. • This incident highlights ongoing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in US healthcare, with HIMSS stating 'AI defenses are insufficient against evolving threats.'

• A new report warns that hundreds of hospitals serving 6.6 million Americans in 44 states and Washington, D.C., face serious threats from potential Medicaid cuts. • The cuts could force hospitals to reduce services or close, severely impacting healthcare access for lower-income and underserved communities. • Medicaid remains a critical funding source for these facilities, highlighting the broad national implications for public health infrastructure.

The decision follows activist pressure as Palantir faces growing scrutiny over NHS and UK government dealsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxNew York City’s public hospital system announced that it would not be renewing its contract with Palantir as controversy mounts in the UK over the data analytics and AI firm’s government contract.The president of the US’ largest municipal public health care system, Dr Mitchell Katz, testified last week before the New York City Council that the agreement with Palantir would expire in October. Continue reading...

Patients experiencing raised bedside rails, doors and pathways blocked by furniture and physical interventionsPeople with dementia are being subjected to restraints and non-consensual sedation while in hospitals in England, according to the first study of its kind.These restrictive practices were found to be an “embedded aspect of routine ward care”, according to the analysis, with such examples including dementia patients having their bedside rails raised, doors and pathways blocked by furniture, experiencing verbal commands to sit down or go back to bed, and physical interventions such as non-consensual sedation. Continue reading...