Cyber attacks target hospitals, and if your business in any way affiliated with or connected to the healthcare industry, you may be a target as well. Recently, the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) state in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services warning of an “Increasing and Imminent Cybercrime Threat.”
According to the jointly released statement, the agency Directors warned that the cyber attacks worldwide will specifically target companies in the healthcare industry like hospitals with the Ryuk ransomware strain. They’re warning IT professionals in the industry to be both watchful and even more vigilant than usual.
In addition to issuing a warning, the government agencies also spelled out a list of specific action steps your company can take to prepare for a Ryuk cyber attack.
These things include the items you’d expect, such as:
- Making sure you’ve got the latest installation of security patches for Windows and the other software you rely on
- Reviewing your incident response plan, or if you don’t yet have one, making one as quickly as possible, coming up with plans to redirect your patients in the event of a successful attack
- Making sure your backups are current
- Limiting personal email/employee education about email
One less apparent recommendation to come out of the advisory was that all devices connected to the network should be turned off when not in use so that those devices are spared in the event of a cyber attack.
In any case, there are three big, government agencies, all saying that these cyber attacks are coming and are much more likely in the weeks and months ahead. With that in mind, be sure your staff is on high alert and that your network is as secure as you can reasonably make it, with contingency plans in place in case of an attack and the worst happens. Stay vigilant out there.
