The unknown hackers seized control of the hospital’s computer systems and would only give access back if a $17,000 ransom was paid in bitcoins.
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The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center made headlines this week when it emerged that unnamed ransomware had effectively forced a lock down of IT systems.
Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center announced the breach of its computer network and its choice to pay the hackers for a decryption key in a Wednesday statement.
“The malware locked access to certain computer systems and prevented us from sharing communications electronically”. “We were advised that paying the ransom in these situations is often the most timely way to restore the affected systems and administrative functions, which we did”, Stefanek said. “In the best interest of restoring normal operations, we did this”, Stefanek said.
“To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that, within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized”, said President Obama in 2009.
The FBI said it is investigating the ransomware attack, but have provided no details beyond that.
The identity of the ransomware attackers is still unknown, but some reports have suggested that the attack was random rather than specifically targeted at the hospital. Apparently the ransom was paid before the medical center contacted law enforcement-it’s not clear if the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Los Angeles Police Department would have advised doing so.
Additional information regarding this cyber attack is posted on our website at www.hollywoodpresbyterian.com. In the hospital’s case, Stefanek said a team of experts is working to “understand more about this event”.
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According to IDG report, “Ransomware victims just have two choices: either pay the ransom or permanently lose access to their files. The best insurance is to have offline or segregated backups of data”.
