Security

After detonating various strains of ransomware in its lab, security specialist Exabeam learned that because encrypting large data-sets takes time, hospitals hit with ransomware can stop it, if they act quickly.  

A Ukrainian hacker claimed the attack on Twitter, including a screenshot of patient names, addresses, dates of birth and diagnoses.

The new collaboration seeks to end ransomware through education and decryption tools.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT opened two grants for building an Information Sharing and Analysis Organization designed to serve public health entities. 

ProPublica published some 300 letters that Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights sent to healthcare providers reminding them of legal obligations, advising how to fix problems and suggesting they make voluntary changes. 

The Office for Civil Rights said that UMMC was aware of security risks as far back as April 2005 but did not take appropriate action.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that data breaches and hacking attacks will expand the information security professional workforce by nearly 20 percent. 

The Office of the Inspector General posted research from 2014 so there’s reason to believe the proliferation of cyberattacks and malware could create even more downtime. OIG recommended that hospitals institute and continuously update contingency plans.

Philip Esformes, Odette Barcha, and Arnaldo Carmouze were charged with conspiracy, fraud and money laundering in a wide-ranging billing scam. 

Researchers propose tactics for preventing ransomware attacks and learning from them when they do occur, based on NIST’s cybersecurity framework.