An attack on availability refers to a type of cyber attack that aims to make a data or system unavailable for its intended users. The goal of these attacks is to disrupt the access that the legitimate users have to it, so they can not use the resources they are needed to use.

A Recent Attack

A recent attack on availability that has occurred is in Ohio at Kettering Health which is a major hospital network which has 14 hospitals and 120 clinics. It occured in May 2025. The group that did the attack is Nefarious Mantis, a ransomware gang. They were able to get into the system and  forced shutdowns on all of the call centers as well as cancellation of elective procedures and communication failures did occur during this time as well. 

Broader Implications

The broader implications of this attack go way beyond just the systems going down. It is putting the patients safety at risk because with them having to delay certain treatments it could be life threatening to some of these patients. Another implication is, when the hospitals go out because they have been hacked it can cause almost a ripple effect because the hospitals are connected to things like the labs that have to be ordered and even the pharmacies because the orders have to get sent through the hospital. 

Conclusion

To conclude, an attack on availability is a bad  thing to happen and can affect any business no mater how big or small the attack is. 

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