Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

Here are the healthcare provider malware, ransomware and phishing incidents Becker's Hospital Review reported on in the past 30 days.

The Georgia Department of Human Services began notifying 45,732 individuals in October of an email hacking incident that exposed their personal information.

When the pandemic hit, some cybercriminal vowed to avoid hitting hospitals. Others may be targeting hospitals because of their vulnerabilities during the pandemic.

The FDA approved a tool Oct. 20 that evaluates and assigns scores to cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices and IT systems.

Healthcare is increasingly reliant on digital information. To support this critical need, the size and complexity of hospitals' IT infrastructures have grown exponentially. The added complexity has created new challenges and risks for hospitals and health systems.

Sonoma (Calif.) Valley Hospital reported its computer system has been down for nearly two weeks after a "security incident" forced the system offline. 

Another 19 hospitals and health systems have been identified as being affected by the Blackbaud security breach in the past six weeks.

Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based SoutheastHEALTH brought its computer network back up after a four-day shutdown prompted by an unusual amount of external internet traffic, according to a report from the Southeast Missourian.

Cybersecurity must be strengthened among hospitals and health systems now more than ever as health services increasingly move to remote and online formats, according to Josephine Wolff, PhD.

Iron Mountain, Mich.-based Dickinson County Health System was hit by a malware attack, according to a report from TV6, an NBC affiliate.