More ransomware attacks are happening nationwide, and every industry is a possible target.
From a payroll hack impacting how you get paid to a hospital attack exposing your medical records, the damage left behind by these attacks can impact almost every aspect of our lives.
“A ransomware group stole confidential patient information which included names, social security numbers, and medical information from a health center,” said Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri during a congressional hearing about ransomware attacks in March.
In some cases, the impact can even be deadly.
“The attack prevented healthcare providers from using equipment that monitors a baby’s condition during delivery and as a result, the infant tragically passed away,” said Senator Gary Peters, (D) Michigan.
But what if you could prevent some of that damage? That’s the goal of new Pre-Ransomware Notifications. It’s run by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA for short.
“Not only can we focus on preventing attacks, we can focus on reducing harm once they occur,” said
Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA.
Goldstein said some cybersecurity companies will alert CISA when a hacker gains access to a network.
“[Hackers will] use a phishing email that will get them access to one employee’s computer, but the crown jewels of that company might not be on that computer,” he said.
Goldstein explains that hackers will bounce around the compromised system to figure out which records to lock up for a ransom. This process can take hours or even days and that’s the same critical window CISA relies on to step in and help.
“We send our regional personnel on the double to k ..
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