Professionals in the healthcare industry commonly receive “increased and imminent” ransomware threats. This is a serious problem that should be addressed quickly because it can cripple an entire hospital, lead to a delay in patient care, and even result in death. The situation is getting worse, which is why the federal government warning, the FBI, Department of Health and Human Services, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency got involved in the case.
What Is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a form of malware that blocks access to your files, and the attacker demands a ransom from you to restore access to your data upon payment. You are shown instructions for how to pay a fee.
It is often spread through phishing emails with malicious attachments or through drive-by downloading. This type of downloading takes place when you unknowingly visit an infected website, then malware is downloaded and installed on your computer without your knowledge.
What Are the Causes of Healthcare-Targeted Ransomware Attacks?
Hospitals and healthcare providers capture and store patient health information and other sensitive data electronically. This is one of the main reasons why there is a rise in healthcare-targeted cyber attacks.
Another culprit for these accelerating attacks is COVID-19. Attackers have taken advantage of the situation where healthcare providers were forced to very quickly set up emergency facilities and shift to telehealth and remote working to provide better healthcare during the pandemic. They had no time to protect their facilities and boost their IT security infrastructures, and security gaps were discovered by cybercriminals immediately.
How Do We Protect Our Healthcare Facility from Ransomware Attacks?
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Identify your vulnerabilities
Stay vigilant because ransomware attackers move very quickly. If your hospital is targeted and a phishing email attachment opened, it only takes around three hours for the cybercriminals to access your network.
Prevent this by identifying your weak points. Some common and key weak points you should pay special attention to include servers with Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)-enabled, unpatched web servers, and a lack of multifactor authentication for logins.
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Educate the entire facility
Patch your weak points after identifying them. Update your security definitions, enable two-factor authentication, and shut down your RPD servers.
Furthermore, anyone in your facility who sends an email and has access to your network can be targeted, so make sure everyone practices basic IT hygiene. Educate the entire facility about the importance of creating strong passwords and spot spear-phishing emails.
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Deploy lightning-fast incident response
The speed of your incident response is critical because it can affect your patients’ lives. Move faster than ransomware and accelerate your system’s ability to identify, neutralize, and expel cybercriminals from their networks.
It’s important to stay a step ahead of cybercriminals, so invest in strengthening your security system. This will help you minimize the damage done to your networks, recover lost costs, reduce recovery time, and preserve the speed and quality of your patient care.
Conclusion
Every second counts when your healthcare facility is targeted with ransomware. To deal with your ransomware problem and protect your system from attacks, you can’t waste any time. Follow the tips mentioned in this guide and implement robust security defenses and proactive response measures.
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