Tech News Roundup

5 Tech Stories You Should Know About From Last Week

1. Cyberattacks on Hospitals Endanger Lives

What happened?

The cyberattacks targeting hospitals and healthcare systems are on the rise. Experts warn that these attacks, which can disrupt critical healthcare services, are likely to increase in the future causing significant financial losses, but also threatening the lives and health of patients.

How it happened?

Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in hospital networks and systems, using various tactics such as ransomware attacks and data breaches, mostly beacuse of the very weak cyber defenses of the healthcare sector.

In one such instance over a hundred healthcare facilities in Romania fell victim to a ransomware attack, disrupting operations and forcing some doctors to revert to manual methods with pen and paper. Among the affected were children's and emergency hospitals, while other facilities took preventive measures by going offline. The cybercriminals demanded 3.5 Bitcoin, equivalent to over £130,000, to decrypt vital files they had locked. Fortunately, recent data backups mitigated the impact. Although the malware type was identified, the responsible group remains unidentified.

Why is it important?

The importance of this issue lies in its potential impact on public health and safety. Hospitals and healthcare facilities are part of the critical infrastructure, and any disruption to their operations can have serious consequences for patients, healthcare workers, and communities. Moreover, the sensitive nature of medical data makes healthcare organizations attractive targets for cybercriminals seeking financial gain or to cause chaos.

Likely consequences:

1. Compromised patient care: Any disruption of medical services delays or prevents patients from receiving timely treatment, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes or even loss of life.

2. Financial losses: At the same time healthcare organizations affected by the disruptions incur significant financial losses due to the costs associated with recovering from cyberattacks, paying ransom demands, and potential legal liabilities.

3. Reputation damage: Cyberattacks tarnish the reputation of hospitals and erode public trust in healthcare systems' ability to safeguard patient data and provide secure services.

4. Increased cybersecurity measures: Affected healthcare organizations tend to invest more resources in cybersecurity measures to protect their systems and data, potentially diverting funds from patient care or other critical needs.

5. Regulatory scrutiny: Regulatory bodies may impose stricter cybersecurity requirements on healthcare organizations to mitigate the risk of cyberattacks and ensure patient safety and data protection.

Sources:

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4467871-cyberattacks-on-hospitals-are-likely-to-increase-putting-lives-at-risk-experts-warn/?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68288150

Insightful video on how easy and effective it is to compramise health care information: