Cybersecurity

The digital security of healthcare institutions and data is a growing concern, with an increasing number of cyberattacks each year against healthcare systems, which are seen as easy targets. Cyber attacks often use ransomware to target personal health information, patient data and medical devices to cut off access to the data until a ransom is payed to the hacker. Cybercriminals have become more sophisticated, using malware, ransomware and spyware to attack outdated and vulnerable systems and software. Due to the interconnected nature of hospital IT systems today, the weakest link can be older web-enabled medical devices, including clinical and non-clinical systems. Employees are also a major target of attacks via malicious e-mails that prompt them to open attachments that then download malware onto the hospital's IT system.

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Study reveals shocking list of the most common corporate passwords

A cybersecurity firm found '123456' and '123456789' are the most common passwords used in the workplace after analyzing 2.5TB of data.

Healthcare hacker sentenced to 10 years in prison

Robert Purbeck, 45, of Georgia was found with data on more than 132,000 individuals taken from various breaches, including multiple providers, a police station and a city government. 

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Ransomware group deploys ticking clock to threaten Georgia hospital

Memorial Hospital and Manor announced the data breach through Facebook on Nov. 3. The cybercrime group Embargo has taken credit for the incident, claiming to have 1.15TB of stolen information. 

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Hackers were inside an Iowa hospital’s network for two weeks

St. Anthony Regional Hospital confirmed patient data was taken by cybercriminals, but the August incident is still being investigated.

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Microsoft: Ransomware hit nearly 400 healthcare entities this year—a 300% rise since 2015

A study from Microsoft on the impact of ransomware found unaffected nearby hospitals see a rise in stroke and cardiac arrest cases, in addition to an influx of patients. 

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Feds make it official: Change data breach was the largest in healthcare history, impacting 100M

Updated reporting from HHS shows UnitedHealth Group's estimate that roughly one-third of people in the U.S. would be affected was correct. 

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CMS contractor takes $1.2M loss after data breach, DOJ lawsuit

Federal Data Solutions allegedly failed to encrypt screenshots of patient data, stored on a server being paid for with Medicare funds.

Boston Children's physician group suffers data breach

Cybercrime group BrianLian took credit for the attack. It has been responsible for over 60 ransomware attacks in 2024 alone. 

Around the web

Compensation for heart specialists continues to climb. What does this say about cardiology as a whole? Could private equity's rising influence bring about change? We spoke to MedAxiom CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, a veteran cardiologist himself, to learn more.

The American College of Cardiology has shared its perspective on new CMS payment policies, highlighting revenue concerns while providing key details for cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. 

As debate simmers over how best to regulate AI, experts continue to offer guidance on where to start, how to proceed and what to emphasize. A new resource models its recommendations on what its authors call the “SETO Loop.”