Illinois hospitals rehearse response to AI impersonations and compromised records

More than 115 Illinois hospitals and health systems rehearsed a cyberattack in which computers could appear to work while their information became unreliable. The November 4, 2026, virtual exercise tested how staff would keep caring for patients amid AI-generated impersonations, fake videos and communications failures—not simply how to operate after technology shut down.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association led “Broken Trust: AI Takes Control.” OSF HealthCare was among the participants. The association described it to 25News as the largest AI-focused emergency preparedness exercise involving hospitals and health systems ever conducted in Illinois.

An outage is not the only failure

Keneatha Johnson, the association’s assistant vice president of safety and emergency preparedness, contrasted the scenario with familiar attacks that shut systems down, steal information or block access. AI-generated impersonations of hospital leaders and deepfake videos added another task: checking incoming information while continuing to operate.

At OSF St. Anthony’s Health Center in Alton, the scenario included fake communications from hospital staff, disrupted access to digital records and changes to connected systems. Emergency management coordinator Olivia Walker pointed to practical dependencies: getting lab reports to departments and communicating with other hospitals.

Such impersonations also feature in breach research. In its July 2026 study announcement, IBM said one in four malicious breaches studied were AI-enabled, with deepfake impersonation and AI-enabled malware the main types. The report covered breaches at 602 organizations worldwide between March 2025 and February 2026, rather than Illinois hospitals specifically.

We really brought it back to the bedside, right? Going straight to the patient, asking the patient, you know, what their allergies may be, things like that.

Traci Bromaghim, OSF St. Anthony’s director of emergency services, speaking to First Alert 4

Keeping care moving without records

Bromaghim told First Alert 4 that staff discussed how to protect patients when medical records were unavailable. The drill highlighted both existing safety systems and older practices they would need to use again. Walker said it also helped the hospital identify gaps to address in its response.

The response extended beyond technical and clinical teams. Walker said every department needed to collaborate, including dietary and environmental services, alongside the vice president and CEO. Different perspectives could reveal consequences that others had overlooked.

The statewide format also let St. Anthony’s staff examine systems other Illinois hospitals had in place, Bromaghim said. That gave the local team a chance to compare approaches as well as inspect its own procedures, rather than work through the hypothetical attack in isolation.