RANSOMED HOSPITAL IT SYSTEM IS A RED FLAG
On February 5, a hacker was able to install malware on the computer system of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center and seize control. Last week the hospital leadership made the painful decision to pay a $17,000 ransom in Bitcoin to regain control of the IT system. Reporting for the Los Angeles Times , Richard Winton states:
“ Cyberattacks on hospitals have become more common in recent years as hackers pursue personal information they can use for fraud schemes. Last July, hackers may have accessed as many 4.5 million patient records in UCLA Health System’s computer network. ”
I see this event as a major red flag. In this particular case, although the IT roadblocks mainly affected employee communications and systems access, it would not be a stretch to imagine other systems being targeted that directly or indirectly place patients in danger. Cybersecurity history guarantees that is true. Therefore, cybersecurity must remain a top priority for businesses and institutions for two obvious reasons:
- We want to prevent future similar incidents that potentially wreak havoc on organizations and their clientele. Let’s face it, $17,000 in Bitcoin is no chunk change. Someone has to pay that loss.
- We want to eliminate all instances of paying ransoms to cybercriminals. Rewarding an activity only breeds more of that activity.
