Signature Healthcare said a cybersecurity incident disrupted parts of its network Monday, sending Brockton Hospital in Brockton, Massachusetts, into downtime procedures, diverting ambulances and forcing some service cancellations.
The not-for-profit health system said it detected suspicious activity in part of its network and activated incident response protocols. Inpatient and walk-in emergency services remained open, and scheduled surgeries and procedures, including endoscopy, continued.
The clearest public impact was at Brockton Hospital, where staff documented care on paper under downtime procedures. Ambulance traffic was diverted Monday, chemotherapy infusion appointments for Tuesday were canceled, and retail pharmacies in Brockton and East Bridgewater were closed for the day. Ambulatory practices and urgent care centers were expected to remain open, though the system warned patients could face delays.
“Downtime procedures have been activated, and we are working with external partners to investigate and restore operations as quickly as possible,” the health system said in a statement provided to Boston 25 News.
Signature Healthcare has not publicly identified the cause, scope or expected duration of the incident, and it has not said whether any patient or employee data was accessed. Officials have not identified the nature of the incident or attributed it to any actor, and no public claim of responsibility or extortion demand has surfaced. DysruptionHub did not receive a response to an emailed request for comment.
The disruption comes less than two years after Brockton Hospital reopened in August 2024, ending an 18-month closure caused by a 2023 electrical fire and restoring a key source of inpatient care in southeastern Massachusetts.
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Signature Healthcare has also dealt with a prior security incident. In 2022, the organization disclosed an email-related breach affecting 9,798 Brockton Hospital patients, according to HIPAA Journal.
More broadly, Massachusetts has seen several recent cyber-related disruptions across sectors. North Attleborough Public Schools said it responded over several days to unauthorized activity on its network, temporarily shutting down part of the system and adding security measures, though officials have not publicly detailed any data exposure or a full restoration timeline.
In Pepperell, officials and the Patriot Regional Emergency Communications Center said a cyberattack discovered April 1 disrupted nonemergency and business phone lines for public safety agencies in Pepperell and other member towns, though 911 remained operational. Townsend later said its affected lines had been restored, and officials said they had seen no evidence private user information was shared.
In healthcare, Heywood Healthcare said its October 2025 cyber incident forced system shutdowns at Heywood and Athol hospitals and briefly triggered Code Black ambulance diversions. That status was lifted Oct. 17, but the hospitals continued operating with limited capabilities in the following days, and the incident was later reflected in state and federal breach reporting channels.
Signature Healthcare says it serves southeastern Massachusetts through 216-bed Brockton Hospital and a medical group with more than 150 physicians across multiple locations.
Restoration timelines, the duration of ambulance diversion and whether the incident becomes a reportable data breach remain unclear. For now, Signature Healthcare has said only that outside experts are assisting and that more updates will follow.
