The Greenfield Reporter notes:
Hancock Health fell victim to a cyber attack Thursday, with a hacker demanding Bitcoin to relinquish control of part of the hospital’s computer system.
Employees knew something was wrong Thursday night, when the network began running more slowly than normal, senior vice president/chief strategy and innovation officer Rob Matt said.
A short time later, a message flashed on a hospital computer screen, stating parts of the system would be held hostage until a ransom is paid. The hacker asked for Bitcoin — a virtual currency used to make anonymous transactions that is nearly impossible to trace.
N.B.: they report:
The attack was not the result of an employee opening a malware-infected email, a common tactic used to hack computer systems, he said.
The attack was sophisticated, he said, adding FBI officials are familiar with this method of security breach.
“This was not a 15-year-old kid sitting in his mother’s basement,” Long said.
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