Here are steps you can take to protect your enterprise against ransomware, limit the impact of a breach, understand where an attack can be stopped, and act fast if a hacker succeeds in gaining access.
The pandemic exposed the need for hospitals to shore up security fundamentals and infrastructure, re-think incident response plans, and use tools rationalization to reduce coverage gaps.
For years, healthcare providers lagged their corporate counterparts when it came to cybersecurity. Recently, they made up significant ground, recognizing the need to allocate sufficient funds, focus on fundamentals, and outsource functions they cannot cost-effectively perform in-house. Unfortunately, 2020 threw a huge wrench in the works.
With the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attacks that caused widespread East Coast fuel shortages still fresh in our minds, new WhiteHat Security research has found that application specific attacks are equally, if not more, likely than ransomware attacks.
In a breach notification letter filed with New Hampshire's Office of the Attorney General, Bose said that in early March 2021, the company "experienced a sophisticated cyber-incident that resulted in the deployment of malware/ransomware across" its "environment."
The FBI identified at least 16 Conti ransomware attacks targeting U.S. healthcare and first responder networks, including law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, 9-1-1 dispatch centers, and municipalities within the last year. These healthcare and first responder networks are among the more than 400 organizations worldwide victimized by Conti, over 290 of which are located in the U.S.
In the aftermath of the Colonial Pipeline attack, global IT association and learning community ISACA polled more than 1,200 members in the United States and found that 84% of respondents believe ransomware attacks will become more prevalent in the second half of 2021. The Colonial Pipeline attack caused massive disruptions to gasoline distribution in parts of the US this month, resurfacing preparedness for ransomware attacks as a front-burner topic for enterprises around the world. Colonial reportedly authorized a ransom payment of US $4.4 million. In the ISACA survey, four out of five survey respondents say they do not think their organization would pay the ransom if a ransomware attack hit their organization. Only 22% say a critical infrastructure organization should pay the ransom if attacked.
Insurance giant AXA S.A. has been hit by a massive ransomware attack, just days after announcing that it would no longer cover damage from that class of cyberattack in France. AXA said on Sunday that the cyberattack has targeted its Asia Assistance division, impacting IT operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
The recent ransomware attack of the Colonial Pipeline has reinvigorated calls from legislators to strengthen the defenses of U.S. pipelines and the electric power grid. Over the last several years, a repeatable pattern is becoming apparent with each major cyber-attack. A critical cyberattack occurs that is followed by outrage that result in statements from government leaders with calls for action - all followed by proposed ideas on how to better mitigate the risk of cyberattacks in the future. Yet, it seems that time goes by and with the next major attack the cycle starts all over again. This time, government is taking a more rigorous approach to proposing solutions to end the vicious cycle.
Conti ransomware gang appears to be behind Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) ransomware attack, according to reports. HSE, a $25 billion public health system, shut down its IT systems to protect the service from further damage, switching to a paper-based system. Though life-saving equipment and COVID-19 vaccine programs were still operating, several healthcare practices across Ireland were forced to cancel low priority appointments.