On September 18, a 78-year-old German woman died after suffering an aneurism. Her local hospital was in the throes of a cyber security incident, so she was forced to seek help in another city, but it was too late. Her death may be the first recorded case of a fatality due to a ransomware attack.
Now, a joint alert from HHS, DHS CISA, and the FBI warns that a wave of similar ransomware attacks are hitting the U.S. healthcare system.
The October 28 statement read in part, “CISA, FBI, and HHS assess malicious cyber actors are targeting the HPH Sector with TrickBot and BazarLoader malware, often leading to ransomware attacks, data theft, and the disruption of healthcare services.
These issues will be particularly challenging for organizations within the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, administrators will need to balance this risk when determining their cybersecurity investments.”
Related: Real-Time Change In Incident Management
A week after the joint statement, the electronic health records (EHR) of at least five healthcare providers remain inaccessible. Sonoma Valley Hospital, Dickinson County Healthcare System, and Universal Health Services were the first to report a ransomware incident. Sky Lakes, the University of Vermont Health Network, and St. Lawrence Health System followed shortly after.
While some hospitals are rescheduling elective surgeries and radiology appointments, all have assured the public that their paper-based backup systems are up and running and they are able to continue to see patients safely and effectively. All affected entities are working closely with the FBI and third-party cyber security teams.
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