Ransomware Attack Hits New York Blood Center, Disrupting Donations

The New York Blood Center Enterprises suffered a ransomware attack on January 26, 2025, forcing it to cancel blood donation drives despite an ongoing blood shortage. The organization is working with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to restore its systems, but processing times are delayed, and the timeline for full recovery is unknown.

  • Cybercriminals targeted the New York Blood Center, causing IT system disruptions and delays in blood donation processing.
  • Blood donation drives were canceled on February 1 and 2, affecting the already low supply of blood.
  • The attack came just days after the center declared a blood emergency on January 22, 2025, due to a decline in donations over the past six weeks.
  • Healthcare remains the top target for ransomware gangs because attackers know the high value of medical data and the urgency of healthcare services.
  • Other healthcare organizations have been attacked recently, including NHS pathology provider Synnovis in June 2024, Kootenai Health in February 2024, and Ascension in May 2024.
  • Experts warn that cyberattacks on healthcare will continue to rise unless stronger data security measures are put in place.

Cybercriminals continue to target the healthcare sector, causing severe disruptions to essential services like blood donations. Organizations must enhance their cybersecurity defenses to prevent such attacks. Using strong ransomware protection like NPAV, regular security audits, and data encryption can help keep critical infrastructure safe from cyber threats.