The attack occurred on November 17 and involve the Ryuk ransomware strain. Attackers are getting ruthless, as it shut down Milwaukee, Wisc. based Virtual Care Provider Inc. which provides internet and data storage for nursing homes. Krebsonsecurity.com has the story in 110 Nursing Homes Cut Off from Health Records in Ransomware Attack. Here's the scary part:
Christianson said her firm cannot afford to pay the ransom amount being demanded — roughly $14 million worth of Bitcoin — and said some clients will soon be in danger of having to shut their doors if VCPI can’t recover from the attack.
“We’ve got some facilities where the nurses can’t get the drugs updated and the order put in so the drugs can arrive on time,” she said. “In another case, we have this one small assisted living place that is just a single unit that connects to billing. And if they don’t get their billing into Medicaid by December 5, they close their doors. Seniors that don’t have family to go to are then done. We have a lot of [clients] right now who are like, ‘Just give me my data,’ but we can’t.”
Brutal. The culprits could have blood on their hands.
Via: Sophos' Naked Security website which offers tips on how to prevent ransomware attacks. However, even with all the publicity these attacks get, they are still happening.
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3:45 PM 12/4/2019
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