Hospital Hit by Ransomware Attack, Disrupting Patient Services

A medical center located in Chico, Calif. was the latest hospital hit by ransomware attacks, according to a local ABC News affiliate.

An information technology (IT) security consultant for Enloe Medical Center—the facility whose systems were held hostage—claims that there have been at least 500 similar incidents across the U.S. in 2019 threatening if not actually affecting the personal medical data of countless patients.

According to the report, the hospital hit by ransomware experienced the breach on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019. On that day, hospital staff attempted to access information stored on Enloe’s network and found it encrypted and unreachable. Because the medical center’s administration had planned for the likelihood of such an attack and set up and practiced standard operating procedures in the event of an informational blackout, the care of patients remained relatively unaffected. The exception would be that some surgical procedures deemed to non-emergent and elective were rescheduled.

As indicated in a second article posted on Jan. 6 by the Chico Enterprise-Record, the majority of the hospital and clinic phone systems were affected by the attack. The systems were reportedly removed from the medical center’s network in response to the threat in order to protect communications. The hospital hit by ransomware—much like many across the nation—is taking its time rolling those systems back to the network out of a concern for overall safety. Enloe representatives told reporters that the hospital is currently operating on backup offline protocol until investigations into the ransomware have concluded.

Enloe’s Chief Financial Officer claims that there isn’t any evidence that private medical data was breached in the incident. Nevertheless, the hospital did take immediate steps to bring its operating system into full use and to have its security tested. What wasn’t included in the reports was what the demands of the “hackers” were or whether these were paid via insurance or other means or rejected altogether. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was reportedly engaged, as was the appropriate personnel at local law enforcement agencies.

What is Ransomware?

According to a blog posted on May 31, 2017, by cyberreason.com, ransomware code is a virus deliberately introduced into an operating system. It can be relatively simple and still be quite effective in securing ill-begotten gains. Ransomware is malicious software introduced into a system that will cause it to lock up and stay inaccessible to the owner or administrator indefinitely or until a sizable fee is paid.

Cybercriminals can profit immensely from this type of work. Because of this profit potential, there has been a rapid increase in ransomware attacks on institutions in recent years. Typically, according to the blog, the ransomware code is delivered through emails that look above board but are anything but legitimate. These emails are often referred to as “phishing” emails because they offer bait, much like with real fishing, by encouraging the reading to click on a link or open up an attachment that introduces the faulty software.

Join a Free Hospital Ransomware Attack Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were a patient at a hospital or healthcare facility affected by a ransomware attack that impacted your medical care, you may qualify to join a hospital ransomware attack class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.