Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning companies of the increased risk of ransomware attacks over Labor Day weekend.

The FBI issued a warning about Hive ransomware after an attack was linked to an Aug. 15 ransomware demand on Marietta, Ohio-based Memorial Health System that shut down its IT network. The system diverted patients as a result of the…

DuPage Medical Group is notifying 600,000 patients that their personal health information was exposed when the Downers Grove, Ill.-based medical group's computer network was hacked in July, The Chicago Sun-Times reported Aug. 30. 

Below are seven hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking chief information security officers in the last month.

In August, 3,710,158 patients across 22 healthcare organizations were hit by data breaches. In just hospitals and health systems, 3,348,499 individuals were exposed.

Microsoft is warning thousands of its cloud computing clients that hackers could read, alter or delete their databases because of a vulnerability, according to an Aug. 26 CNBC report.

Metro Infectious Disease Consultants began notifying 171,740 patients that their data may have been exposed when hackers breached their employee email accounts, according to data reported to HHS Aug. 16.

Bad actors are claiming to partner with physicians to put unvaccinated customers into official medical databases to falsely show they have been vaccinated, according to an Aug. 24 Cleveland-based Fox 8 report.

Cybersecurity researchers recently tested a popular infusion pump and dock and found that the device has certain vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to exploit its medication dosing functions, Wired reported Aug. 24. 

Misuse and misconceptions about HIPAA have been circulating in the news recently, with some falsely claiming the privacy law prohibits being asked about COVID-19 vaccination status, according to Robert Shmerling, MD.