Ransomware Outbreak, More Attacks Feared

Hospitals, look out!

A ransomware attack crippled six hospitals in New York and Vermont. And worse, hundreds more are at risk, according to a trifecta of US government offices.

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Health & Humans Services all issued stark warnings about what could come next. They cite “credible information” uncovered in a Dark Web forum where Russian hackers are planning further attacks with the Ryuk Ransomware variant.

Included among the victims, the University of Vermont Medical Center saw operations slow to a crawl. With the network down, the hospital only managed half of its normal patient load.

“We still have no set time when we believe that we’ll be able to bring our electronic medical record and other systems back online.” - Dr. Stephen Leffer, President - University of Vermont Medical Center

The crew behind Ryuk Ransomware count tons of businesses, non-profits and hospitals in their list of exploits. In fact, schools have also been highly targeted by cybercriminals during the Pandemic.

Hackers hit hospitals like UVM because it often pays well - to the tune of $10 million ransom demands! Ransomware variants like Ryuk don't just encrypt (i.e. lock up) your network. That's actually in the last phase of the attack. They first steal (or exfiltrate) as much data as they can find. Only after they successfully grab a ton of data do they scramble files and demand the ransom.

“The hospital does not know when people who recently received COVID-19 tests will get the results” - UVM Health's Dr. Leffer

All too often, hospitals are forced to pay up. They have patients' lives and sensitive data on the line.

The good news is that these hacks can be stopped!

The first step is training your team to avoid the initial Phishing email, the ones that hospitals and healthcare organizations are getting every single day.

Are you ready to take action?We make it easy to protect your team from attacks just like this one. Find out how to protect your team with INFIMA's Automated Security Awareness platform.

Want a quick quote? Hit us up here! (No sales call necessary!)

Selected quotes came from here.[https://apnews.com/article/vermont-94079781573785c06b41e492a340c42b]