Naomi Diaz reports: The American Hospital Association sent a letter to the HHS urging them to clarify whether hospitals and health systems should be providing breach notification to patients if protected health information is compromised due to the Feb. 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare. The March 21 letter, penned to Melanie Fontes Rainer, acting director of the…
Category: Malware
Another plastic surgery group has fallen victim to a ransomware attack – Long Island Plastic Surgical Group/NYSPG (2)
On March 8, DataBreaches learned of another attack on a plastic surgery group. This time, it was the Long Island Plastic Surgical Group, a group that has 10 locations in New York and dozens of doctors. This is another ransomware story that may have a very unhappy ending for patients and employees. Hit by Two…
Decreasing ransomware attacks: two strategies to consider
Experts agree that a ban on ransom payments should decrease ransomware attacks, but concerns about implementing any ban are not trivial. Here are two ideas to consider. Proposal 1: Increasing the Sanctions List Expanding the sanctions list to include every ransomware group with a leak site might make threat actors less likely to threaten victims…
Scranton School District hit by cyber attack
Sarah Hofius Hall reports: The Scranton School District is the target of a ransomware attack, the acting superintendent confirmed Friday. Third-party forensic specialists are investigating the source of the incident and the impact on district systems and will “restore full functionality to the system as soon as possible,” according to the statement from Acting Superintendent…
Banning Ransom Payments: Calls Grow to ‘Figure Out’ Approach
Mathew J. Schwartz reports: How might banning ransomware victims from paying a ransom to their attacker work in practice? As ransomware groups are causing massive damage and disruption and showing no signs of stopping, Ciaran Martin, the former head of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center, said “it’s time to figure out how to make a ransomware payments…
Hamilton’s ransomware attack, week two: What we know and what we don’t
Grant LaFleche reports: On Feb. 25, a sprawling cyberattack hit the City of Hamilton’s digital network, disrupting phone lines, emails, and databases the municipality uses every day. The crisis is almost two weeks old, and the city remains largely locked out of its systems. Phone lines remain down, council meetings have been postponed, registration to recreation programs…