United States – Columbia Surgical Specialists
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/cybersecurity/columbia-surgical-specialists-pays-hackers-14k-ransomware-attack
Exploit: Ransomware attack.
Columbia Surgical specialists: Surgical facility in Spokane, Washington.
| Risk to Small Business: 2.111 = Severe: Columbia Surgical Specialists decided to pay almost $15,000 in ransom to unlock files that were encrypted by hackers. After originally discovering the incident on January 9th, the firm hired an outside security firm to mitigate the aftereffects of the attack. Initially it was believed that 400,000 patients could have been affected, but the number has since then been reduced. Columbia Surgical Specialists explained that their delay in reporting was due to the time needed to analyze information surrounding the breach, and they do not believe that the attackers were able to access patient data. | |
| Individual Risk: 2.428 = Severe: Names, drivers’ license numbers, SSNs, and protected health information was impacted in the ransomware attack. However, the outside security firm believes that it is unlikely that the data was exposed in the incident. |
Customers Impacted: To be determined
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: Ransomware
is a sticky subject for businesses and can resemble a virtual hostage
situation. In the event of an attack, security experts recommend not
paying ransoms to hackers, since it incentivizes future exploits and can
result in greater demands. To prevent such exploits from occurring in
the first place, organizations must partner up with managed security
providers.
ID Agent to the Rescue:
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Risk Levels:
1 – 1.5 = Extreme Risk
1.51 – 2.49 = Severe Risk
2.5 – 3 = Moderate Risk
*The risk score is calculated using a formula that considers a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.
