The HITRUST Cyber Threat Intelligence and Incident Coordination Center has issued a report urging healthcare organizations to take steps to protect themselves against the Shellshock virus.
Shellshock, which allows hackers to exploit a vulnerability in the Borne-Again Shell in Unix and Linux-based systems to execute arbitrary code remotely, is more of a threat than Heartbleed because the virus could allow hackers to gain complete control of a compromised server, according to HITRUST.
The virus could potentially allow malicious actors to bring down healthcare organizations' servers or access protected health information, according to the report. A patch has been issued, though the HITRUST report says some of the vulnerability still exists.
In light of the heightened security threat, HITRUST recommends healthcare organizations review their security measures and bolster them as necessary.
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