![]() The domain controller is seen as the heart of any distributed network, making it a valuable asset within any medical IT infrastructure. RaaS allows low-level attackers to launch ransomware campaigns on healthcare organizations while having a direct customer support line to ensure a successful attack. The developer gets a portion of the ransom payment. Rogue developers are selling or leasing malware to users, operating a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model. Ransomware attacks are becoming more widespread than ever and have proven to be a lucrative business for cybercriminals. Recently, attackers have been favoring this method of extortion to maximize return on investment as hospitals continue to digitize more and more patient and medical data. They break access into healthcare infrastructure to encrypt files and demand a ransom payment to decrypt the data, including threatening to leak the stolen information if an additional payment is not made. Ransomware gangs are sophisticated and highly organized. It can be challenging for healthcare professionals to stay vigilant, especially when a day in the life of a physician can consist of dealing with critical medical emergencies. Attackers are exceptionally skilled in the art of impersonating individuals and taking advantage of humans and system weaknesses. In fact, phishing was the top attack vector seen by the Pondurance security analysts. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, security professionals saw a significant increase in phishing attacks related to COVID-19 topics. Impersonationįrom phishing and business email compromise (BEC) to stolen credentials and social engineering, impersonation is a classic way for attackers to access sensitive health data. Most small and midsize health organizations do not have the capacity or the capital to invest in a 24/7 internal security operations center (SOC). As new threats emerge, it can be difficult for healthcare leaders to know where they should invest funding. Healthcare organizations are understaffed and underfunded when it comes to cybersecurity. 3 This accelerated digitization increased the attack surface by exposing more network ports, adding new software dependencies, and increasing the use of cloud services. hospitals utilize these applications to communicate with patients and other consulting practitioners. As more hospitals and providers rely on telehealth, 76% of U.S. While frontline medical workers continued to work on- site, the majority of healthcare organizations connected with patients through telehealth services. The pandemic played a huge role in launching successful ransomware attacks against healthcare organizations. ![]() Healthcare organizations can still focus on elevating their cybersecurity programs by bringing people, processes, and technology together to prevent and stop the spread of ransomware within their IT and Internet of Things (IoT) devices and networks.įrom a business perspective, implementing 24/7 monitoring, detection and response securing the domain controller, often referred to as the heart of the network and implementing signature-less endpoint detection and response are smart investments that healthcare executives can put toward defending their networks and assuring patient care. Pondurance security analysts have spent a considerable amount of time analyzing common attack patterns within a complex healthcare landscape to improve cybersecurity defenses, reduce compromise, shorten dwell time, and prevent damaging ransomware outcomes. Ransomware gangs are becoming increasingly relentless in their tactics and have recently begun encrypting backup files before encrypting live systems, making it even harder for organizations to avoid paying the ransom. Once an attacker gains access to secure medical systems or devices, attackers will encrypt files using malware, locking out administrators and users. The ransomware industry will continue to evolve, but the underlying techniques for gaining access to sensitive health data have primarily stayed the same. Attackers have proven their ability to paralyze an organization’s daily operations, impacting the privacy and safety of its patients.
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