Security News
Paying a ransom resulted additional
demands from attackers.
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| Image used under license: Gleb Shabashnyi |
PARCA
eNews – May 24, 2016 – As reported in HIPAA Journal, the Kansas Heart Hospital was hit with a ransomware
attack May 18 with critical files locked. The amount of the demand was not
disclosed, but paying the ransom resulted in some files being unlocked and an
additional demand for the remaining files. The hospital refused the second
demand.
The
attack occurred despite the hospital having a ransomware emergency plan in
place, according to Hospital President Dr. Greg Duick. He further explained that
at no point was access to patient health information gained by the attackers
and medical treatment for patients continued throughout the attack, although it
did cause the hospital a variety of problems.
Legislation proposed
Following
the attack in February of the ransomware attack of the Hollywood Presbyterian
Medical Center, a bill was introduced into the California Senate that would
make installing ransomware on a computer a felony. The bill is currently winding
through a variety of senate committees.
Despite
current laws many believe cover ransomware and extortion already, bill sponsor
Senator Bob Hertzberg believed the law needed beefing up citing the rapid
rise in ransomware attacks, which have extorted more than $200 million from
U.S. businesses in the first three months of 2016 compared to $25 million in
all of 2015.
Source: HIPAA Journal
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