Cyber hackers took down the hospital network at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The criminals took the Hospital offline on February 5th and would not give them their data unless they received a ransom of $17,000 in Bitcoins.
Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center staff had to utilize handwritten notes and faxes because they could not use their computer systems. The hackers installed malicious software that infected their entire EMR database and company e-mails, preventing access to client data. Healthcare Practitioners didn’t have access to valuable information such as X-Rays, Lab Results, CT Scans and much more. The original ransom to release this data was $3.4million yet the hackers were apparently satisfied with $17K in Bitcoins.
LA Times spoke with the hospital’s chief executive Allen Stefanek and he told them, “The malware locks systems by encrypting files and demanding ransom to obtain the decryption key. The quickest and most efficient way to restore our systems and administrative functions was to pay the ransom and obtain the decryption key. In the best interest of restoring normal operations, we did this.”
The hospital told LA Times that it alerted authorities and was able to regain control of all its computer systems by Monday, with the assistance of technology experts.
Stefanek said patient care and hospital records were never compromised. Here at OC Cloud9, our network security team doesn’t see how it wasn’t…
Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman, said the bureau has taken over the hacking investigation but declined to discuss specifics of the case. Law enforcement sources told The Times that the hospital paid the ransom before reaching out to law enforcement for assistance.
Ransomware attacks are still relatively rare. However, they are becoming more common and could be detrimental to your business. For further information about how to protect your confidential information from being hacked, contact a member of our OC Cloud9 technical team at (949) 699-6619 or contact us by clicking here.
Information originally obtained from LA Times. View the story here.
Deborah is the Director of Network Operations at OC Cloud 9. She oversees the daily Operations of the company. She has been working with Orange County Computer, Inc., the parent company of OC Cloud9, Inc., since 2003. Prior to working in the IT Industry, her area of expertise was in regulatory compliance in the Healthcare Industry working with state and federal regulatory agencies. She acts as our interpreter regarding all HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Deborah's office mantra is "Keep the client happy" and she will act as the liaison between a client request and a technical barrier to resolving as issue. She is happy to help.
In her spare time, you might find her paddle boarding in the ocean or skiing in the mountains.
