After Hacks On Hospitals, U.S. And Canada Issue Rare Joint Cyber Alert
MedStar, a hospital chain serving thousands in Washington, D.C., had to shut down much of its computer network this week. The governments are discouraging victims from paying hackers to restore access to their data.
Reuters:
U.S., Canada Issue Joint Alert On 'Ransomware' After Hospital Attacks
The United States and Canada on Thursday issued a rare joint cyber alert, warning against a recent surge in extortion attacks that infect computers with viruses known as "ransomware," which encrypt data and demand payments for it to be unlocked. The warning follows reports from several private security firms that they expect the crisis to worsen, because hackers are getting more sophisticated and few businesses have adopted proper security measures to thwart such attacks. (Finkle, 3/31)
NBC News:
MedStar Hospitals Recovering After 'Ransomware' Hack
A chain of hospitals serving hundreds of thousands of patients in the Washington, D.C. area is struggling to get back to normal, after it was hit with what's known as a "ransomware" attack. Ransomware is a strain of malware that encrypts data on infected machines, then typically asks users to pay ransom in hard-to-trace digital currency to get an electronic key so they can retrieve their data. (Williams, 3/31)
