In the early hours of Friday the 13th, the computer systems of Brno University Hospital were attacked. The hospital stopped admitting emergency patients, the evaluation of tests for patients suspected of being infected with the ubiquitous coronavirus came to a halt, as did all other activities dependent on transferring data from laboratories to the database system.
Initially, the hospital management estimated that the issue would be resolved within hours; however, emergency admissions were only restored after more than 24 hours, and a number of computers were still out of operation on Sunday. Their current status is unknown. The hospital's website, where one would normally look for information on service availability, was also unavailable until Monday afternoon. Following the December attack on the Benešov hospital, this is the second attack on a major healthcare facility in the Czech Republic within three months.
Caroling, caroling, Stephen?
We will most likely never learn how targeted and timed the attack on Brno University Hospital was in relation to the ongoing pandemic, but it is clear that healthcare providers have moved to the top of the list of appealing targets for cynical hackers with the spread of COVID-19. Even under normal circumstances, they are attractive targets for cyber extortion. They resemble a proverbial wealthy farm with a good housewife, where all the local carol singers make their first stop on St. Stephen's Day—if the housewife opens the door, they will almost certainly be generously rewarded for their efforts. During a period affected by a health crisis, an honored visitor arrives at the facility/wealthy farm, and the housewife tries to present herself in the best possible light. The village children know all about it, and with higher expectations, even more of them come to the farm door to sing for treats. Put less allegorically, if attackers manage to penetrate the systems of healthcare facilities and successfully deploy ransomware, they are likely to receive a ransom payment. The pandemic, and the related increased need for continuous operation wherever possible, further increases the likelihood of payment.
The hospital is not only concerned with re-decrypting systems, which is now critically important in itself for all residents in its catchment area. Even during normal operations, there is also sensitive personal data of patients who have recovered and those currently undergoing treatment. After a successful attack, it is often difficult to determine whether the attackers merely encrypted data or also stole some of it. Off-site backups will therefore help the hospital against ransomware itself, but it will still be vulnerable to extortion through the publication of its patients' sensitive data.
Cyber protection is not just about backups
Ideally, hospitals protect themselves proactively. For example, with Acronis solutions, which can detect new types of ransomware and other malware, stop them, and reverse their effects before they can properly begin. Acronis solutions include integrated Acronis Active Protection based on AI, which examines all processes in the system and recognizes suspicious patterns in their behavior. This protects the entire system, all documents and applications, as well as essential backups. Thanks to the combination with Acronis's own backup technology, data is restored to a flawless state within minutes after a malicious process is detected and stopped.
In addition to protection against malware and ransomware, sensitive data leaks, and assistance with continuous service availability, Acronis cyber protection can also help with compliance, migration to the cloud, or integrating mobile devices into operations, while not burdening IT systems with unnecessary additional complexity—quite the opposite.
Leading by example
The hospital and polyclinic in the Slovak town of Nové Mesto nad Váhom is now protecting, with the help of the Acronis Cyber Backup Cloud solution, the availability of care for almost 70,000 local residents and the entrusted sensitive data of an even greater number of patients.
Just as with a biological virus, it is necessary to protect against an electronic one proactively. And there is no need to limit normal operations—simply deploy effective cyber protection.
Source: https://www.acronis.cz/zdravotnictvi-v-kybernetickem-ohrozeni-necekany-dopad-pandemie-na-fn-brno/
Article author: ZEBR.ai editorial team
