Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center detailed in a Jan. 17 brief how artificial intelligence can be used by hackers to aid in malware development, forming a serious threat to healthcare cybersecurity.

From EHR shutdowns to technical problems related to an IT security issue, here are five hospitals and health systems that have been affected by a cybersecurity incident since Dec. 21:

Ransomware groups saw a 40 percent drop in revenue in 2022 as victims are refusing to pay ransoms, BBC reported Jan. 19.

Third-party vendors made the healthcare sector most vulnerable to cyberattacks in 2022, as at least 55 percent of healthcare organizations suffered a data breach in the last 12 months due to vendors, Security Magazine reported Jan. 18. 

A class action lawsuit, filed Jan. 13, accuses Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health of failing to protect patients' personal information from a recent ransomware attack on the health system. 

The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center issued a brief Jan. 12 warning the healthcare sector about the tactics and exploitation techniques used by Royal ransomware and BlackCat ransomware, two ransomware groups that have been aggressively targeting the U.S. healthcare sector.

An unauthorized party has removed files containing patients' personal information from Hayward, Calif.-based St. Rose Hospital, JDSupra reported Jan. 13.  

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has settled a lawsuit over a data breach involving a former employee who allegedly viewed nude photos of patients, KROC reported Jan. 16.

New research from Netskope, a cybersecurity company, found that 400 cloud applications delivered malware in 2022, tripling the number of distinct cloud applications that delivered malware in 2021. 

Gallup, N.M.-based Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services has agreed to pay victims of a 2021 data breach up to $4,000 each, according to a recent federal court filing.