Ransomware is becoming a growing problem for the healthcare industry. And with around a dozen attacks on hospitals being reported since the beginning of the year, you may be wondering just how severe the problem is. Should you be alarmed? How can you protect your practice? Here’s an inside look at how the ransomware epidemic is affecting the US and Canadian healthcare systems.

The ransomware strike on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center on February, 5 was one of the first major attacks this year. The hospital lost control of its computer system to hackers and was forced to pay them $17,000 to regain control.

“The quickest and most efficient way to restore our systems and administrative functions was to pay the ransom and obtain the decryption key. In the best interest of restoring normal operations, we did this,” stated Allen Stefanek, president of the medical center.

Thankfully, access to Hollywood Presbyterian’s EMR system was restored on Monday February, 15, over a week after the initial attack. So what can be learned from this story? Well, it raises a very important question…

Should you pay a hacker who’s infected your system with ransomware?

It’s a vexing question, and unfortunately the consensus on the answer is split. The problem is that the ransomware is very intelligently designed. And while it may sound absurd to pay so much money to a hacker, especially when there’s no guarantee your systems will be restored, oftentimes there’s not much choice.

“The ransomware is that good. To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom.” said Joseph Bonavolonta, an Assistant Special Agent of the FBI’s CYBER and Counterintelligence Program.

While Bonavolonta and other law enforcement officials have advised to pay the ransom, the US government has oddly enough said the opposite. In a release made public late last month, they noted, “Individuals or organizations are discouraged from paying the ransom, as this does not guarantee files will be released. Report instances of fraud to the FBI at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.”

The reasoning behind this argument is that by paying the ransom, you’re encouraging hackers to attack more practices.

How deep does the ransomware epidemic go?

According to Symantec’s 2015 Internet Security Breach Report, the healthcare industry had the highest number of data breaches for four years in a row and suffers 37% of all breaches that occur. In fact, last year alone there were more than 250 separate incidents of data breaches in healthcare totaling over 112 million records. And the problem doesn’t look to be getting any better as many experts believe that attacks are likely to grow in number and scale.

Why healthcare?

Hackers know that most healthcare facilities haven’t installed proper security measures to protect themselves. Hospitals have tight budgets, often emphasize convenience over security and have multiple entry points into their system, all of which makes them easy prey for cyber criminals. Of course hackers don’t breach a system just because it’s easy. They do it because there is valuable information stored inside, and healthcare facilities are ripe with info that can fetch a high price on the black market and help criminals steal a patient’s identity. The fact that the system is easier to breach just makes healthcare facilities a more alluring target

What can you do?

It all starts with paying more attention to security in general. But some tips to help any practice secure their system should include staff training that allows employees to better identify phishing emails, restriction of access to sensitive information, encryption and two factor authentication. While these are a few basic tactics you can use to get started, consulting an IT provider that specializes in healthcare security can be a wise decision that provides peace of mind and safety for your valuable data. We are happy to help your practice gain the highest level of security possible. Give us a call today to learn more.

Taking work home, or practically anywhere else, has never been easier. With personal mobile devices, your employees can access company files wherever they are. Bringing your own device (BYOD) has become a popular strategy for many businesses to conduct work more efficiently and flexibly. But this strategy is not without its problems. BYOD, if not implemented correctly, can make your system susceptible to a number of risks. So what security risks do you have to account for? Here are a few security implications you should keep a close eye on.

Data leakage

The biggest reason why businesses are weary of implementing a BYOD strategy is because it can potentially leave the company’s system vulnerable to data breaches. Personal devices are not part of your business’s IT infrastructure, which means that these devices are not protected by company firewalls and systems. There is also a chance that an employee will take work with them, where they are not using the same encrypted servers that your company is using, leaving your system vulnerable to inherent security risks.

Lost devices

Another risk your company has to deal with, is the possibility of your employees losing their personal devices. When devices with sensitive business information are lost, there is a chance that this could end up falling into the wrong hands. Additionally, if an employee forgets to use a four digit PIN code to lock their smartphone or tablet, anyone can gain unauthorized access to valuable company data stored on that particular device. Therefore, your company should consider countermeasures for lost devices like completely wiping the device of information as soon as an employee reports a missing or stolen phone.

Hackers can infiltrate your system

Personal devices tend to lack adequate data encryption to keep people from snooping. This along with the fact that your employees might not have updated their devices can allow hackers to infiltrate your IT infrastructure.

Connecting to open Wifi spots makes your company more susceptible to hackers. Open wireless points in public places can put device owners at risk because there is a chance that hackers may have created that hotspot to trick people into connecting. Once the device owner has connected, attackers can simply surveil web activity and gain access to your company’s accounts.

Vulnerable to malware

Viruses are also a big problem when implementing BYOD strategies into your business. Using personal devices means your employees can access whatever sites or download any mobile apps that your business would normally restrict to protect your system.

Jailbreaking or rooting a device also puts your systems at risk because it removes limitations imposed by the manufacturer to keep the mobile software updated and protected against external threats. It’s best to understand that as your employees have the freedom to choose whatever device they want to work with, the process of keeping track of vulnerabilities and updates is considerably harder. So if you’re thinking about implementing BYOD strategies to your business, prepare your IT department for an array of potential malware attacks on different devices.

So you might be thinking that it would probably be best to just avoid implementing a BYOD strategy in the first place. However, BYOD will help your business grow and adapt to the modern workplace, and should not be dismissed as a legitimate IT solution. It’s just important to educate your company about these risks so that problems won’t occur for your business down the line.

If you need some help implementing IT security solutions for your company, or if you have any concerns regarding IT, give us a call.

Virtualization security is a topic that often goes undiscussed on the Internet, and you may even think it’s a non-issue because of this. However, like the rest of your technology, a virtualized infrastructure must be secured. To help keep yours protected, here are some of the security risks involved with virtualization and how you can go about mitigating them.

Security risks of virtualization

Complex infrastructure - much like the topic of virtualization itself, the infrastructure of a virtualization solution can oftentimes be confusing to small businesses. The extra layers of infrastructure complexity added by virtualization can make it more difficult to spot anomalies and unusual events happening in your virtual machines and network.

Dynamic design - the design of a virtualized environment is dynamic by nature and constantly changing. Unlike adding physical equipment, which is a bit of an event as you make room for it in your office and install it, the addition of virtual machines can go almost completely unnoticed as they’re created in a matter of minutes and aren’t visible in your workspace. The danger here is the age old adage, “out of sight out of mind.” And if you add too many, they can easily become difficult to manage and secure, creating security holes in the process.

Quick moving workloads - as your virtualized infrastructure grows, there will come a time when you need to move workloads from one machine to another. While this may sound harmless enough, the real issue is that your virtual machines will likely require different levels of security. And when you’re juggling multiple workloads over multiple virtual machines, you may accidentally move mission critical workloads to a machine with a low level security, creating a security hole in the process.

How to mitigate risks

While these three risks may sound alarming, they can all be mitigated. The key behind effectively securing your virtual machines all comes down to process. Put some thought into your security processes and then implement them. Here are a few areas to cover:

• Organization - decide how and where to separate your test, development and production virtual machines.
• Audit - develop a system to regularly audit your virtual machine security. Whenever possible, use tools to automate your security checks, balances and processes.
• Patches - Perform regular security patch maintenance, and create a schedule to ensure your patches are up-to-date for all virtual machines.
• Overflow management - When you have so many virtual machines they’re hard to track, you need a system in place to monitor them. So be aware of what each virtual machine is used for, and manage it accordingly. While doing this, find ways to consolidate machines whenever possible and get rid of the ones under utilized.
• Responsibility - to ensure the security of your virtual machines doesn’t slip through the cracks, designate one IT technician or manager to be responsible for it.

If you prioritize security of your virtual machines and properly manage them, security can truly be a non-issue. If you’d like additional assistance with your virtualized infrastructure or would like to implement a new virtualization solution, give us a call today.