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Kettering Health Breach: What You Need to Know

Kettering Health Breach Cancer Location

Kettering Health Cancer Center – Main Campus by Aaron Lee

On May 20, 2025, Kettering Health, one of Ohio’s largest nonprofit healthcare providers, suffered a massive cyberattack. This attack disrupted operations across its network, forcing the cancellation of elective inpatient and outpatient procedures. It also disabled access to key systems like electronic medical records, scheduling, and call centers.

Emergency services remained active, but the breach caused serious delays, confusion, and concern for patients.

“Elective inpatient and outpatient procedures at Kettering Health facilities have been canceled for today, Tuesday, May 20. These procedures will be rescheduled for a later date and more information will be provided on this as updates are available. In addition, our call center is experiencing an outage and may not be accessible.”

– Kettering Health said in a public statement

Kettering Health operates 14 hospitals and more than 120 outpatient facilities throughout western Ohio. With over 15,000 employees and 1,800+ physicians, this attack disrupted care for thousands and highlighted critical cybersecurity gaps in healthcare infrastructure.


What Happened During the Kettering Health breach?

Authorities and cybersecurity analysts suspect the Interlock ransomware group orchestrated the attack. While Kettering hasn’t publicly confirmed the attackers, the details align with known tactics used by Interlock, including data encryption and ransom threats.

“A ransom note found on the encrypted systems read: “Your network was compromised, and we have secured your most vital files.”

The cybercriminals may have exfiltrated sensitive medical data, using the threat of public leaks to pressure the organization into paying a ransom.


Kettering Health Breach Timeline:

Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Kettering Health confirmed a widespread outage caused by a cyberattack. Elective procedures were canceled, and patients couldn’t reach the call center. (CNN)

Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Kettering reported internal systems remained under attack. Scam calls followed, with individuals posing as Kettering staff and demanding payments. (Fox19)

Security experts and sources like Industrial Cyber and BleepingComputer pointed to Interlock as the likely threat actor, a group that also claimed responsibility for a separate attack on DaVita, a Fortune 500 kidney care provider.


What Systems Were Affected?

  • Call centers
  • Scheduling platforms
  • Electronic medical records
  • Payment processing

The Bigger Picture: Healthcare is Under Attack

This breach highlights a pressing reality: healthcare systems are prime targets for cybercriminals. Hospitals hold massive amounts of sensitive patient data, and any downtime can put lives at risk. Beyond operational disruption, a data leak could expose thousands of patients to identity theft and medical fraud.

This is not an isolated event. Healthcare remains a prime target for ransomware actors due to:

  • High-value patient data
  • Complex, interconnected systems
  • Time-sensitive operations that pressure organizations to pay ransoms

These events demonstrate that cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue, it’s a patient care issue.


What This Means For You?

This event isn’t just a Kettering problem, it’s a healthcare-wide wake-up call. Every provider, from small clinics to large networks, must take cybersecurity seriously.

Cybersecurity isn’t just IT. It’s patient safety.


This article will be updated once more information becomes available