The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response today released an update on the Ryuk ransomware threat to the health care and public health sector, and urged the sector to take certain actions to reduce the risk of an attack.

For additional risk mitigation resources, visit the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s ransomware library.

“The hospital field faces a COVID-induced ‘cyber triple threat,’ which includes: 1) a rapid expansion of the ‘attack surface’ due to the need for increased remote and network connected technologies, 2) a rise in cyberattacks by criminals taking advantage of the expanded attack surface, and 3) reduced revenue for hospitals and health systems to bolster cyber defenses,” said John Riggi, AHA’s senior advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “Cyber criminals have increasingly targeted health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this attack underscores why cybersecurity will continue to be a top priority for the health care field during a time when our health information systems are becoming more interconnected.

“We are most concerned with ransomware attacks that have the potential to disrupt patient care operations and risk patient safety. We believe any cyberattack against a hospital or health system is a threat to life crime and should be responded to and pursued as such by the government.”

For more on this or other cybersecurity and risk issues, contact Riggi at jriggi@aha.org.   

Related News Articles

Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee April 1 discussed cybersecurity threats in legacy medical devices during a hearing. The…
Headline
The Trump Administration March 28 announced that it renewed for one year the public emergency for ongoing malicious cyber-enabled activities against the U.S.…
Headline
The FBI March 26 advised that, after extensive investigation and intelligence review, they have not identified any specific credible threat targeted against…
Headline
A ChatGPT vulnerability identified last year is being used by cyberthreat actors to attack security flaws in artificial intelligence systems, according to a…
Headline
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey March 13 announced charges for Rostislav Panev, a dual Russian and Israeli national, for his alleged…
Headline
A joint advisory released March 12 by the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center…