Oof. This notification from the New Jersey Spine Center, sent to patients on September 22, describes a real disaster where not only essential patient files and credit card information were locked up, but their most recent backup was too. No wonder they paid the ransom. On July 27, 2016, our computer systems were attacked by a malware…
Category: Malware
Hackers attack Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske and hold bosses to ransom over stolen information
LynBarton reports: Cyber criminals have made “multiple” attacks on Cornwall’s main hospital in the past year with repeated attempts to hold health bosses to ransom by stealing sensitive information. According to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, the IT system of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) was once infected ransom-ware, a type of malicious software…
MarsJoke Ransomware Targets the Government and K-12 Educational Sector
Catalin Cimpanu reports: Crooks are targeting government and educational institutions with a new ransomware family named MarsJoke (or JokeFromMars), discovered in late August, but which came to life this week through a massive email spam wave. The group behind this ransomware is using emails disguised as air travel confirmation notifications, which also contain a link…
Notice of Data Incident at Stallcup & Associates, CPAs
On July 11, 2016, Stallcup & Associates, CPAs was subject to a ransomware virus and some of our network files were encrypted without our permission. Fortunately, the virus was detected within an hour and immediately stopped. Although there is no evidence that any files were viewed or exfiltrated, nor that such activities were intended, we are notifying…
Keck Medical Center of USC discloses ransomware attack
Keck Medical Center of USC is notifying patients of a ransomware attack that they discovered on August 1. The ransomware affected two servers that did not contain EMR but that did contain internal documents that included demographic information, date of birth, health information including treatment and diagnosis, and in some cases, Social Security numbers. Other files…
A single ransomware network has pulled in $121 million
Maria Korolov reports: A single ransomware author and distributor was able to collect $121 million in ransomware payments during the first half of this year, netting $94 million after expenses, according to a report released today. […] Total ransomware increased by 128 percent during the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year. There…