U.S. hospitals, already on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, are now facing viral attacks by cybercriminals. More than 20 U.S. hospitals and health care organizations have reported their data being held hostage by ransomware, and federal agencies have warned that hundreds more U.S. health care facilities are at risk for cyberattacks. In the face of these alarming predictions, independent security experts describe the recent assault on the U.S. health care system as the most significant cybersecurity threat ever seen in the United States.
In September, over 200 U.S. facilities of a major hospital chain were crippled by a ransomware attack, creating chaotic conditions including mounting emergency room waits and failures of wireless vital-signs monitoring equipment. According to one cybersecurity firm, the Russian criminal gang responsible for the recent ransomware attacks is purposely targeting and disrupting U.S. hospitals, forcing them to divert patients to other health care providers and producing prolonged delays in critical care. The cybercriminals use ransomware to scramble data that can be unlocked only with software keys provided after the target of…
