After a lull, ransomware attacks on hospitals are rising again

Ron Southwick / Report

Source : https://www.chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/after-a-lull-ransomware-attacks-on-hospitals-are-rising-again

Earlier this year, cybersecurity experts noted a slight dip in ransomware attacks aimed at health systems, but they also cautioned that the decline may be short-lived.

It appears the lull was indeed only temporary.

In recent weeks, more ransomware groups have launched attacks at health systems, and they have disrupted patient care, says John Riggi, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk for the American Hospital Association.

“I have seen, unfortunately, an increase in ransomware high impact ransomware attacks just in the past six weeks, and with multiple facilities being hit,” Riggi tells Chief Healthcare Executive®.

In fact, it’s becoming clear that attacks aimed at hospitals and healthcare organizations are looking to be worse in 2023 than last year.

As of late June, more than 220 cyberattacks have targeted hospitals and health systems, and more than 36 million people have been affected, Riggi says. By comparison, 44 million were affected by hacking incidents in all of 2022.

It’s worth noting that Riggi is focusing solely on cyberattacks aimed by bad actors. The federal government also tracks other unauthorized health data disclosures, such as accidental breaches of information from digital tracking tools on hospital websites.

In the first six months of the year, the data breaches involving two firms – MCNA, a dental insurer, and PharMerica, a pharmacy services firm – affected more than 14 million people. One health system recently was hit with a ransomware attack that disrupted cancer treatment, Riggi says.

Steve Cagle, CEO of Clearwater, a cybersecurity firm, tells Chief Healthcare Executive that some recent attacks have impeded patient care. Hospital executives need to recognize the magnitude of a cyberattack’s disruption of patient services.

“We’ve seen so many ransomware attacks, even some in the last 60 days, at hospitals that have forced those hospitals to shut down their systems, canceled surgeries, ambulances diverted from emergency rooms, test results that are just not available,” he says.

A ransomware attack disrupted services at Richmond University Medical Center in New York in May.