At a recent cybersecurity conference, Director of the FBI, James B. Comey, has given valuable ransomware advice for healthcare providers to help them tackle the growing threat of attack. Comey confirmed that ransomware is now the biggest cybersecurity threat for the healthcare industry. Healthcare providers must be prepared for an attack and be able to respond quickly to limit the harm caused.
Ransomware is used to encrypt files and databases to prevent the victim from accessing essential data. Since healthcare providers need access to patient health information in order to provide medical services, healthcare providers are being extensively targeted. If data access is essential, victims are more likely to pay ransom demands.
However, Comey explained that ransoms should never be paid. If a ransom is paid, this only encourages cybercriminals to attack more businesses. The payment of a ransom sends a message to other cybercriminals that the attacks are profitable.
Ransomware can be sent randomly via spam email or distributed by malicious websites. Cybercriminals also install ransomware once access to a computer system has been gained and data have been exfiltrated. Tackling the problem involves implementing a range of cybersecurity defenses to prevent attacks and ensuring data can be recovered and business processes can continue if ransomware is installed.
In the case of the latter, data backups are essential. All critical data should be backed up on a daily basis at a minimum. Data backups can also be encrypted by ransomware, so it is essential that backup devices are not left connected to computers or servers. Data should ideally also be backed up in the cloud.
One of the best pieces of ransomware advice for healthcare providers is to prepare for an attack now. Healthcare organizations should not wait until a ransomware infection occurs to decide how to respond. Not only should policies be developed that can be implemented immediately following a ransomware attack, business continuity plans must be tested prior to a disaster occurring. The same goes for backups. Many organizations have been attacked with ransomware only to discover that they have been unable to restore their data due to a corrupted backup file.
At the conference, there were many security professionals offering ransomware advice for healthcare providers, although when it comes to prevention there is no silver bullet. A range of ransomware defenses should be deployed to prevent email and web-borne attacks.
Cybersecurity solutions should be implemented to prevent malicious emails from being delivered to end users. Spam filtering solutions are one of the best defenses against email-borne threats as they block the majority of malicious emails from being delivered to end users. Cybersecurity solutions should also be implemented to prevent web-borne attacks. Web filters block malicious websites from being visited and can be configured to prevent downloads of malicious and suspicious files. Endpoint security solutions should also be considered. They can rapidly detect downloads of malicious files and prevent malicious software from being installed.
Employees must also be informed of the risk of attack and trained to be more cyber aware. Training should be reinforced with exercises to test whether cybersecurity training has been effective. Individuals can then be singled out and provided with further training as necessary.
Comey explained to attendees at the Boston Conference on Cybersecurity that the key to combating cybercrime is collaboration. Cybercrime has escalated in recent years and the problem is not going to be beaten by organizations acting independently. Collaboration between law enforcement organizations and companies across all industries is essential. Comey said all new cyberthreats and details of cyberattacks should be shared with the FBI.