Fire! Cyberattacks On Health Facilitys Now More And More Often, A Commemoration Rises From The FBI

Cyberattacks are now targeting many health facilities. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA The alarm of a hazard to cybersecurity has now risen even harder in the healthcare industry this month. The FBI warns health facilities that medical devices such as patient monitoring or infusion pumps, are often running on outdated software vulnerable to hacking.

OakBend Medical Center in Texas was hit by a major ransomware attack from a gang that said it had stolen 1 million patient medical records. A report shows that patients at the hospital handling the cyberattack may have died.

A series of warnings emerged with growing awareness of how dangerous cybersecurity holes are in health care. Health care organizations are increasingly dependent on devices connected to the internet for doing things like tracking patient records and providing medicines.

They are now increasingly vulnerable to being the target of ransomware attacks, which can steal data and shut down the systems they use to treat patients.

Experts spend years frustratedly as hospitals don't take this cybersecurity seriously. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, the wave began to shift. With its warning this week, the FBI joined Congress in taking serious medical device vulnerabilities.

Earlier this summer, senators proposed legislation that would require Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue more regular guidelines around cybersecurity of medical devices. The FDA also asks for more power to make rules around cybersecurity.

There is also more awareness about how cyberattacks can injure patients, which many people in health services are reluctant to acknowledge. Cyberattacks on the University of Vermont's Health Network during the pandemic gave researchers the opportunity to clearly demonstrate that this disorder reduces patient care.

Last year, a survey found that more than two-thirds of health care organizations affected by ransomware had a longer number of hospitalizations for patients and procedural delays during attacks. In a new report from the think tank in Washington DC, a quarter of organizations dealing with ransomware said they had higher mortality rates.

Incidents like the hack at the OakBend Medical Center have been so common lately that they are barely registered on the national news barometer. Most people don't realize that it happens regularly or that it's very dangerous. But with things like congressional action and increased FBI warning, experts hope that cybersecurity is eventually starting to become a priority.

Saya yakin kami membuat langkah untuk akhirnya benar-benar menangani ransomware, kata Oscar Miranda, kepala teknologi untuk perawatan kesehatan di perusahaan keamanan siber Armis, kepada The Verge tahun lalu.