BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WBRC ) - A cyberattack has kept the Alabama Board of Nursing’s online licensing system offline, disrupting service during one of the busiest times of the year for nurses.
80,000 registered nurses are due to renew their licenses while new graduates are trying to get licensed and start working, according to the ABN.
The board’s online services have been down since September 1.
Paper applications expand
The board has developed a paper application along with external primary source reviews, for advanced practice nurses affected by the cybersecurity event. The process currently applies to applications for initial advanced practice approval, reinstatements and new collaborations.
The board said incomplete applications, or those missing requested information, will not be processed.
Honor Ingels, policy/chief communications officer and administrative director of the ABN Center for Nursing Excellence at the Alabama Board of Nursing, said the board recognizes the difficulty of the situation.
“We do understand this is a frustrating process. I think everybody needs to understand that our first priority is to secure our licensees’ data and to prevent the breach from causing greater problems than it already has,” Ingels said.
The board says paper applications can be mailed or dropped off at its office.
There is no firm date for when online services will be restored.
Applications and updates will be posted on the board’s website .
NCLEX and license verification
The board said it can access NCLEX test results as they are reported. Beginning September 8, the board began posting a running list of successful applicants on its website, indicating each person listed is legally authorized to practice as a nurse in Alabama.
The board said it may not be able to issue an Alabama nursing license number until its services are fully restored. In the interim, nurses may be identified and their licensure validated using the unique identifier assigned by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
Employers are directed to verify licensure through the NURSYS national nurse licensure database while the board’s verification services are unavailable. The board said information in NURSYS is current through August 31.
Probation and VDAP participants
The board said Probation and VDAP participants are currently unable to access monitoring applications within its system due to the cybersecurity incident. The board’s program of random drug screening remains in effect, and participants subject to screening should continue to check in with Affinity.
Participants will not be required to complete self-reports due September 5, but that information should be included in the report due October 5.
VDAP participants may reach VDAP Director Shaye Robinson at [email protected] . Probation participants may reach Probation Director Rachel Brazell at [email protected] .
The board said it continues to receive reports of attempts to defraud Alabama nurses using spoofed phone numbers and forged documents made to appear as official ABN . The board said no ABN employee would ask a nurse to keep an investigation secret or request immediate payment of a fee or fine.
The board said anyone contacted by someone claiming to be an ABN investigator should note the caller’s information and the ABN at 334-293-5200.
Investigation ongoing
In a September 10 statement, ABN Executive Officer Dr. Natalie Baker said the investigation into the cybersecurity event remains active and ongoing, with the board continuing to work with cybersecurity professionals and state resources. Baker said the board is not yet able to draw conclusions regarding the nature or scope of the event, and additional information will be provided when facts have been validated.
The full story
This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.
