Cyber Incident Disrupts Alabama Nursing Licenses and Services Statewide

Summary

A cyber incident took Alabama’s nursing licensing system offline during renewals, disrupting applications and verification statewide. The board is restoring systems, but officials have not disclosed the incident’s cause, scope, or whether data was accessed or removed.

Key points

• The incident began Sept. 1 and disrupted the Alabama Board of Nursing’s online licensing and regulatory services during a major renewal period.
• The outage affected more than 80,000 nurses preparing to renew, as well as graduates and out-of-state applicants seeking Alabama credentials.
• Board staff were processing applications by hand and had processed all paper applications received by Sept. 16, according to WBRC.
• License verification was disrupted; Nursys information was current only through Aug. 31, and some applicants could not immediately receive an Alabama license number.
• The board said it was investigating with cybersecurity professionals and state resources; systems were being restored in phases.
• WBRC reported staff were securing systems, protecting licensee data, and wiping compromised devices. The method and source of the incident remain undisclosed.
• Officials have not said whether information was accessed or removed, established the incident’s nature or scope, or announced a full restoration date.

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