Ransomware

It is becoming increasingly common for threat actors to use ransomware to encrypt files to prevent data access, but also to steal data and threaten to publish or sell on the stolen data if the ransom is not paid. This new tactic is intended to increase the likelihood of victims paying the ransom. The Center…

A dental practice in Reno, NV has experienced a ransomware attack that prevented dental records and images from being accessed for five days. Wager Evans Dental experienced the ransomware attack on October 30, 2017. The malicious software was installed on one computer and one server used by the practice. Ransomware can be installed in a…

Northwest Rheumatology of Tuscon, Arizona has announced that some of its computer systems were taken out of action following a ransomware infection on April 10, 2017. Following any ransomware attack, HIPAA-covered entities must conduct an investigation to determine the extent of the attack and whether patient’s protected health information has been compromised. If a covered…

In the past two weeks, two further healthcare organizations have announced that they have experienced ransomware attacks that potentially resulted in the protected health information of patients being accessed by cybercriminals. A combined 11,843 patient records were exposed in the two attacks. The first incident affects PVHS-ICM Employee Health and Wellness, LLC. Ransomware was installed…

Companies and organizations around the world potentially faced substantial costs after hackers threatened to keep computers disabled unless victims paid $300 or more in ransom, the latest and most brazen in a type of cyberattack known as “ransomware.” The malware hit Britain’s beloved but creaky National Health Service particularly hard, causing widespread disruptions and interrupting…

The New Jersey Spine Center has reported it has suffered a ransomware attack that resulted not only in the electronic health records of patients being encrypted, but also its backup files. The infection also disabled the spine center’s phone system. The ransomware was installed on July 27, 2016, and while the organization’s antivirus software did detect…

Marin Medical Practices Concepts (MMPC), a Novato, CA-based provider of EMR and medical billing services, has announced that its systems were recently taken out of action by ransomware. Cybercriminals succeeded in installing ransomware on its network on July 27, 2016. While patient data were not encrypted, physicians were prevented from accessing patient data as the…

This year a number of healthcare organizations have had vital data locked by malicious file-encrypting software. In February, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center felt there was little alternative but to pay a ransom to attackers to obtain decryption keys to unlock files that had been locked with ransomware. The attackers issued a Bitcoin ransom demand of…