July 2019 was the worst month in history for health care data breaches, with a total of 50 breaches that affected more than 500 records reported to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), according to HIPAA Journal. Those 50 reportable data breaches exposed more than 35 million individuals’ health care records. HIPAA Journal opines that … Continue Reading
It’s a busy time for colleges and universities as the fall semester starts and campuses are bustling with activity. It’s also the perfect time for cyber criminals to create mayhem for institutions of higher education with a cyber-attack. That is exactly what happened to Regis University in Denver, Colorado. The university had to shut down … Continue Reading
We have definitely seen an uptick in the number of ransomware attacks against municipalities around the country. Thus far, the attacks have been against single cities, towns, and court systems, and recently against a Louisiana school system. The pace and coordination of these attacks have magnified, as evidenced by the coordinated and simultaneous ransomware attacks this … Continue Reading
We’ve written a few times recently about municipalities, companies, and government agencies hit with ransomware attacks this year. In early July, it was reported that a court system in Georgia was attacked with ransomware, causing lawyers, court employees and the public to have to rely on “old school” paper to file pleadings and keep the … Continue Reading
We previously reported that the criminals behind the GandCrab Ransomware were retiring, and that a patch was discovered and companies are urged to implement the patch [view related post]. Why would cybercriminals who bilked more than $2 billion from companies with GandCrab retire when they have the resources and the ability to continue to steal? … Continue Reading
The tension with Iran has generally increased, and it has been reported that the U.S. has launched a cyber-attack against Iran. In retaliation, the risk of Iranian-backed wiper malware attacks against U.S. businesses and government agencies has increased, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS recently issued a warning to U.S. businesses to … Continue Reading
Security researchers have warned municipalities repeatedly about how they are being targeted with ransomware, that they are at high risk, and the need to make data security a high priority. Municipalities are unfortunately only taking heed now that recent ransomware campaigns are in the news and bringing some municipalities to their knees [view related posts … Continue Reading
The attackers behind the vicious ransomware known as GandCrab have made their money (loosely estimated at over $2 billion) and are retiring. Most of us work for a living and then retire, but these guys steal money to retire. A lot of money. Shortly after their announcement that they are retiring (no doubt to figure … Continue Reading
Although many thought that WannaCry was in the rear view mirror, a recent report by Artemis, based on client experience, found that health care organizations and manufacturing companies are still being hit with the ransomware that affected hundreds of thousands of machines in 2017. According to the report, 40 percent of Artemis’ health care clients … Continue Reading
According to a recent FBI Flash, Ryuk ransomware has hit more than 100 U.S. companies since August 2018, with a “disproportionate impact on logistics companies, technology companies, and small municipalities.” The Flash, “provided in order to help cyber security professionals and system administrators to guard against the persistent malicious actions of cyber criminals,” seeks information … Continue Reading
Another city, another ransomware attack. Cities and municipalities continue to be targeted with ransomware campaigns. Fortunately, in this case, essential services such as fire, police, Emergency Medical Services and 311 service were still operational despite the attack. According to a tweet by Mayor Bernard Young, Baltimore shut down its servers in response to the ransomware … Continue Reading
In the last two weeks, ransomware dubbed LockerGoga has attacked aluminum manufacturer Norsk Hydro, which announced that as a result of the attack, it had to shut down its worldwide network and chemical companies Hexion and Momentive. According to reports, each of the companies received similar ransomware messages. One company had to order all new … Continue Reading
The headlines of hacking incidents against counties, cities and towns are racking up like the retail space was several years ago. The hackers have targeted state and municipalities to wreak their havoc. This week, Orange County, NC was hit with a ransomware attack that brought it to its knees. As a result of the attack, … Continue Reading
Cities and towns continue to be a profitable target for successful ransomware attacks. As we previously reported [view related posts], the list of cities and towns getting hit with ransomware attacks continues to grow. Last week, Jackson County, Georgia admitted that it paid hackers $400,000 to obtain access to its information that was locked down … Continue Reading
I was a speaker at a recent conference of municipalities in a state last week, and during my presentation, I mentioned the various cyber-attacks that have affected cities, towns and educational departments in the U.S. (Atlanta, GA; Farmington, CT; West Haven, CT; Leeds, AL; Yarrow Point, WA; and Leominster, MA to name a few). Little … Continue Reading
Darkreading.com has issued a survey entitled: Monetizing the Insider: The Growing Symbiosis of Insiders and the Dark Web which states that malicious insiders are responsible for 27 percent of all cybercrime. This statistic confirms that cyber criminals are increasingly recruiting insiders by using the dark web as a recruiting tool. So not only do businesses … Continue Reading
Some analysts have predicted that by 2020, there will be 20 billion Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices worldwide, which could grow to over 80 billion by 2025. Sales of IoT devices were $80 billion in 2017, and are predicted to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2021. With the exponential growth of IoT devices, experts … Continue Reading
According to a new report by Datto, Inc. (its third annual Global State of the Channel Ransomware Report), ransomware continues to be the top cyber-attack experienced by small- and medium-sized companies. Some managed service providers were surveyed in Singapore, the Asia-Pacific region and across the globe. Fifty-five percent of them said their clients had experienced … Continue Reading
Small businesses are targeted by hackers because they often do not have the resources to stay abreast of new schemes, or to protect against them with the latest technology or security solutions. Small businesses have historically struggled with data security, so any help is always welcome. Recognizing that small businesses struggle with data security, the … Continue Reading
A new ransomware, dubbed “Ryuk,” has surfaced in the last few weeks that is said to be targeting large organizations in the United States. The attackers behind Ryuk have reportedly made over $640,000 in just two weeks, and are allegedly connected to the well-known hacking group out of North Korea—Lazarus. According to security company Check … Continue Reading
On July 9, 2018, Cass Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Harrisonville, Missouri was hit with a ransomware attack that led to a complete shutdown of its electronic health record (EHR) and the diversion of trauma and stroke patients. According to CRMC, the attack affected CRMC’s internal communications system and “access to” its EHR. In response, … Continue Reading
Medical transcription provider MEDantex has reportedly exposed the protected health information of thousands of patients through its unsecured provider portal, which did not require a password for access. According to reports, including KrebsOnSecurity, the patients’ audio medical notes were uploaded to MEDantex’s website, which were then to be transcribed and uploaded to a portal accessible … Continue Reading
The health care industry continues to get hammered by SamSam ransomware attacks, to the point that the Department of Health and Human Services Healthcare Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (HCCIC) has issued a report outlining the danger of ongoing SamSam ransomware campaigns, with tips to help organizations detect and block SamSam. According to the report, … Continue Reading
Verizon recently issued its Protected Health Information (PHI) Data Breach Report, which is always an interesting read. Not surprisingly, Verizon’s report concludes that based upon analysis of 1,360 security incidents involving the health care sector, 58 percent of the incidents were caused by insiders and 42 percent were caused by external threats. Insider threats can … Continue Reading
