As COVID-19 ravaged hospitals’ patient care units last year, opportunistic criminals saw an opportunity to pluck low-hanging fruit: Hacking groups decided to breach and ransom healthcare institutions during a time of global crisis.
The problem wasn’t merely an onslaught of attacks on hospitals, but also that the level of attack sophistication also increased. Healthcare companies now have larger concerns than data exfiltration and leaking patient records; hackers now seek to totally disrupt hospitals by paralyzing services and critical care unless administrators pay up. Using ransomware, cybercriminals are now locking up electronic health records (EHRs) and the IT infrastructure, denying hospitals access to patient histories, medication needs, and appointment information – all the fundamental data they need for daily operations.