Oneblood is still recovering from a cyberattack last week that forced the state’s primary distributor of blood into manual operations.
On Wednesday, the not-for-profit blood center reported that its digital systems were compromised in a ransomware attack.
“Our critical software systems have cleared re-verification and are operating in a reduced capacity,” OneBlood said in a press release.
It is currently unclear whether donor data has been compromised, however, the investigation is ongoing, said Susan Forbes, vice president of communications at OneBlood.
“It's a very fluid situation and things are changing by the minute. We were, and continue to do everything possible to resume back to full capacity,” Forbes said.
OneBlood is the main artery for blood donations in Florida hospitals – supplying 250 hospitals in the state as well as Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Although the attack left OneBlood unable to use a digital system, it was still able to collect, process, and distribute blood at a hindered capacity as it shifted to manual operations.
“The biggest obstacle in getting blood out the door was moving to manual labeling. Although, we were still able to get significant amounts out the door,” Forbes said.
Labeling operations bore the brunt of the ransomware attack, leaving staff to manually register donated blood before moving on to hospital distribution. OneBlood said the process caused hospitals to operate as if there were a shortage of blood, otherwise known as a “blood shortage protocol.”
“Now we have moved back to an automated environment,” Forbes said.
While cybersecurity experts are working to better understand the attack, OneBlood is calling on donors to respond to the call to give blood and platelets, especially after Hurricane Debby impacted Florida and other southern states that rely on the blood bank.
“All of our donations are always needed under any circumstance. So we encourage people who are eligible to donate, please do so,” Forbes said “They're making a tremendous impact in the community in helping save people's lives.”
Copyright 2024 Central Florida Public Media
