At a time when the world is gripped by a virulent pandemic, there is perhaps no greater critical infrastructure than the nation’s hospitals that are treating Covid-19 and other patients. It’s not hard to imagine the ramifications if even a few of those hospitals were incapacitated and unable to fully care for the sickest among us – because it’s already started to happen.
Heartless attackers used ransomware to disable computer systems at healthcare facilities in Oregon, New York, Vermont, Michigan and Wisconsin in October. The FBI and other federal agencies have issued warnings about “imminent cybercrime threats” aimed at the nation’s healthcare providers.