Healthcare Ransomware
Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts or removes access to computer files until a ransom payment is made. In an incredibly short amount of time ransomware has grown from fringe cyber-attack to widespread epidemic. Researchers saw an average of over 4,000 ransomware attacks per day in Q1 2016 – a stunning 300% increase over the attacks they saw in 2015. An estimated $325 million in ransom payments has been generated by just one type of ransomware alone, CryptoWall 3.02, and with the success of several high-profile attacks on hospitals, criminals are increasingly targeting healthcare providers.And when attacks do happen, the damage can be devastating. The loss of access to patient records alone can result in critical services being suspended and communication grinding to a halt. Historically, following most data breaches, cybercriminals put the sensitive user information accumulated from the attack up for sale on the dark web. Depending upon the type of personal inf