A new analysis has revealed that 759 hospitals across the United States experienced network failures during the July 2024 CrowdStrike software crash, with more than 200 reporting outages that interfered with direct patient care, according to Wired.
The findings, published in JAMA Network Open by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, provide the first detailed nationwide assessment of the aftermath of the incident.
On July 19, 2024, a faulty software update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike triggered a major global IT disruption that crippled critical systems in hospitals and other sectors.
Researchers used an internet-scanning tool called Ransomwhere? to identify outages at U.S. hospitals before, during, and after the crash. Originally designed to detect ransomware-related disruptions, the tool was repurposed to map the impact of the software failure.
More than 200 hospitals experienced outages to vital patient care services, including electronic health records, fetal monitoring systems, and remote monitoring tools, the study found. Another 212 facilities had failures in systems related to operations, including billing and staff scheduling. At least 62 hospitals also lost access to research platforms.
"If we had had this paper's data a year ago when this happened, I think we would have been much more concerned about how much impact it really had on US health care," said Christian Dameff, a UCSD emergency medicine doctor and cybersecurity expert who co-authored the study.
The research team said the actual number of affected hospitals is likely higher, noting that their scanning covered only about one-third of the country's more than 6,000 hospitals. While most services resumed within six hours, even brief outages can be hazardous in emergencies, such as strokes or heart attacks.
CrowdStrike has disputed the study's conclusions and methods.
The company, which provides endpoint protection and threat intelligence services, did not offer a detailed response to the published findings. Nevertheless, the researchers argue that studying the effects of such incidents is essential to improving resilience in the healthcare system.
The study compares the scale of the CrowdStrike disruption to previous widespread cyber incidents such as the NotPetya and WannaCry attacks, emphasizing the risk posed by both accidental software failures and targeted intrusions.
The outage's effects varied by hospital, with some facilities experiencing multiple categories of disruption. The report also pointed out that even systems not tied directly to patient care — such as payment processing or research platforms — can have secondary consequences that affect the broader hospital ecosystem.
The findings highlight the importance of cybersecurity readiness in medical institutions and underscore the need for stronger safeguards to prevent and recover from digital crises. As healthcare becomes increasingly reliant on networked systems, the potential for cascading failures poses a growing threat.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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