Healthcare Provider Goes Old School After Hack

On January 11th of this year, SamSam ransomware turned Hancock Health of Indiana into a virtual information lock-out. SamSam held the keys, demanding a Bitcoin ransom to give the encrypted data back to the healthcare provider. In the meantime, the info-heist sent doctors, nurses, and other hospital support staff grabbing pen and paper to function. Apparently handwritten prescriptions and medical notes saved the day.

2017 saw WannaCry ransomware hitting the global healthcare industry hard. Over 19,000 appointments and surgeries were cancelled when the NHS was compromised. Hancock Health was the first medical ransomware reported in 2018. The healthcare industry is bracing for what may be the toughest year yet for cybercrime. Ultimately, Hancock paid the ransom, but not before bolstering their data and backup systems to prevent future attacks. Paying ransomware crooks is never an easy decision for any business, from healthcare to law enforcement and everywhere in between. And law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts recommend against paying a ransom. That just encourages more of the same behavior.

Hancock Healthcare CEO Steve Long states “We were in a very precarious situation at the time of the attack. With the ice and snow storm at hand, coupled with one of the worst flu seasons in memory, we wanted to recover our systems in the quickest way possible and avoid extending the burden toward other hospitals of diverting patients.” The FBI finds the motivation behind ransomware cybercrimes like SamSam and WannaCry is the ransom payment and not the actual stolen data.

Many data security experts believe for industries to successfully combat cyber theft, a joint effort is necessary. Sharing data technology and lessons learned from hacks could be invaluable. Who really knows what type of new and insidious cybercrime may be just around the corner? For now, the global healthcare industry is working to fortify data systems while holding their collective breath. Welcome to 2018.