Cybercriminals have once again aimed at the healthcare industry; only this time the attack was not targeted towards a US hospital. The fresh breach occurred in another continent, at a hospital in Tullamore, Ireland. A public announcement by the HSE (Health Service Executive) revealed that the servers of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group were infected. The ransomware has been said to be corrupting Windows operating systems of the group.
The affected components of the event include the IT ecosystem connected with the LIS (Laboratory Information System). A representative from HSE assured that the ransomware campaign is an isolated event. He explained that so far there is no credible evidence which can prove the strain distributed over a larger scale after the initial breach.
To initiate ransomware removal and recovery processes, the hospital has been collaborating with the CIO (Chief Information Officer) of HSE for the restorations of its computers. The groundwork has started to re-establish the defunct Laboratory Information System with the assistance of a secure environment provided by the HSE.
The HSE spokesperson addressed concerns about the operations. He claimed that there has been no effect on the data or operations related to the patients and affirmed that all the business continuity initiatives are on-going and were not disrupted in the aftermath of the attack. Nevertheless, the HSE thought that it was only right that the Data Protection Commission was notified about the attack and therefore alerted them.
It remains to be seen how the hospital ultimately succeeds in the ransomware removal and restoration processes; however, it may try to take some comfort in the fact that it was not the lone victim terrorized by a ransomware attack. The entire 2018 has been filled with news headlines reporting attacks of never-ending healthcare attacks. Whether, it is a hospital in USA, India, or Ireland, no one is safe from the ransomware juggernaut.
