Hackers accessed California hospital data in ransomware attack: 5 details

Laura Dyrda (Twitter) -

Sonoma (Calif.) Valley Hospital was hit with a ransomware attack on Oct. 11, and CEO Kelly Mather revealed at a Nov. 5 board meeting the hackers have access to a large amount of data, according to a report in the Sonoma Index-Tribune.

Five details:

1. The cybercriminals accessed several gigabytes of data, much of which was images, said Ms. Mather. Some of the images date to 2009.

2. Sonoma Valley Hospital did not pay the ransom, and Ms. Mather told the board that the hospital would know how much information the hackers had soon. When the hospital identified the breach, it shut down the computer system to stop it.

3. Clinicians and workers at the hospital reverted to manual processes and paper records when the IT system went offline. Surgery went on as normal, but lab and imaging departments were affected by the downtime.

4. Sonoma Valley is building a new network and replacing 50 computers. It will also have to put 75 systems and 215 workstations back online before the recovery is complete.

5. The hospital is planning to implement two-factor authentication and brought on a security company to conduct drills.

More articles on cybersecurity:
Texas health system shuts down IT network, cites security threat: 4 details
Patient info exposed in Massachusetts hospital IT incident: 4 details
UVM Medical Center reassigns, furloughs 300 workers due to IT system downtime: 6 details

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