10 Hospitals Hit by Ransomware Attacks in September

The number of hospitals hit by ransomware attacks has increased drastically over the past year, with no signs of cybercriminals slowing down.

On Sept. 30, ten hospitals were hit by ransomware attacks. Three in the state of Alabama and seven in Australia were severely limited in their abilities to accept new patients, according to arstechnica.com.

Three hospitals in Alabama’s DCH Health System were closed to new patients, and even those who were brought to the hospitals’ emergency rooms were likely transferred to another facility as soon as they became stable enough to be transported.  The DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Northport Medical Center and Fayette Medical Center were affected.

DCH representatives issued a press release at the time saying, “A criminal is limiting our ability to use our computer systems in exchange for as-yet-unknown payment. Our hospitals have implemented our emergency procedures to ensure safe and efficient operations in the event technology dependent on computers is not available.”

The seven Australian hospitals said it would take them weeks to restore their networks and to secure them. The ransomware attack appeared to target financial management. Even though no evidence was found that patient records had been infiltrated, the hospitals did have to reschedule several patients’ treatments.

The hospitals hit by ransomware attacks in Alabama and Australia have not been linked to each other.

What Hospitals Hit by Ransomware Are Facing

A ransomware attack occurs when hackers hijack the computer system of a hospital, city government school or other business. The attacks are generally started by the criminal sending an email with a link that contains malware. If just one person clicks on the link, a door is opened for the criminals to do one of two things: encrypt the organization’s data to prevent personnel from reading files, or lock the data to stop personnel from accessing the information.

Other tactics for ransomware attacks use remote desktop connections or through software vulnerabilities that allow a virus to take root and spread to folders and servers.

The organization’s data is held hostage until a demanded payment is made to the criminal entity–typically through Bitcoin, a type of online monetary denomination that allows for anonymity.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it “does not support paying a ransom in response to a ransomware attack. Paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee an organization will get its data back – there have been cases in which organizations never received a decryption key after paying the ransom.”

The FBI advises organizations to have backup computer servers and other IT defenses in place to avoid ransomware attacks. Automatically updated anti-virus and anti-malware programs that conduct regular scans are advised. In order to protect backup servers, they should not be connected to the computers or networks they are backing up.

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.