In simply the previous few weeks, the next main ransomware assaults on healthcare amenities have occurred:
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- In February 2016, hackers used a chunk of ransomware known as Locky to assault Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Middle in Los Angeles, rendering the group’s computer systems inoperable. After every week, the hospital gave in to the hackers’ calls for and paid a $17,00zero.00 Bitcoin ransom for the important thing to unlock their computer systems.
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- In early March 2016, Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky, was additionally attacked utilizing Locky ransomware. As a substitute of paying the ransom, the group restored the info from backups. Nevertheless, the hospital was compelled to declare a “state of emergency” that lasted for about three days.
- In late March, MedStar Well being, which operates 10 hospitals and over 250 outpatient clinics within the Maryland/DC space, fell sufferer to a ransomware assault. The group instantly shut down its community to stop the assault from spreading and started to regularly restore information from backups. Though MedStar’s hospitals and clinics remained open, staff have been unable to entry e-mail or digital well being information, and sufferers have been unable to make appointments online; all the things had to return to paper.
Doubtless, that is solely the start. A latest examine by the Well being Data Belief Alliance discovered that 52% of U.S. hospitals’ techniques have been contaminated by malicious software program.