There is currently an imminent ransomware threat targeting the healthcare sector after cyberattacks on healthcare providers increased by 45% in the last few months of 2020. The rise of COVID-19 last year also challenged the industry in more ways than one with 79% of all data breaches in 2020 affecting the healthcare sector. The majority of these attacks include ransomware, but other attacks include DDoS attacks and botnets. It’s reported that Ryuk and Sodinokibi are the most common ransomware variants used to attack hospitals. In the event of a ransomware attack, hospitals are more likely to pay ransom and valuable patient data can be stolen.
In order for the healthcare sector to remain alert to cyberattacks experts suggest looking for evidence of trojan infections. These are usually a sign of an imminent ransomware attack and can allow organizations to stop a threat early. In addition, monitoring networks during the weekends and holidays can save providers from unexpected ransomware attacks. Finally, using third party security tools allows continuous network monitoring and can mitigate any potential threats.
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