In-brief: The new year won’t bring relief for the healthcare industry, which faces a range of new, sophisticated attacks seeking paydays and access to electronic health records, a new survey by Experian finds.
Healthcare
Ransomware Used Against Muni Known As Harsh, Virulent
San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) was hit with a ransomware attack over the weekend, disrupting a number of agency computer systems including email, the MTA said in a statement on Sunday. And security experts say that the ransomware used has a reputation for virulence. Computer terminals observed at MTA (or “Muni”) stations displayed a message that read, in part, “You Hacked. All Data Encrypted” over the weekend, paralyzing toll collection operations and forcing the MTA to open its turnstiles and let the public ride for free. According to a report by The San Francisco Examiner claims that the ransomware thieves have infected more than 2,000 of the agency’s 8,000 computers, affecting not only fare collection, but also systems that assign routes to bus drivers. The thieves are demanding $73,000 in ransom, paid in bitcoin. In a statement on Sunday, San Francisco MTA said that the attack “disrupted some of our […]
Start-Up Claroty Has Eye On Industrial Control System Threats
In-brief: Claroty, an Israel-based start-up emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday, unveiling a new platform that it claims will help owners of industrial control systems detect threats and attacks by sophisticated adversaries.
Short Sheet: Researchers Raise Doubts on St. Jude Device Hack
In-brief: The battle of words over the security of devices by St. Jude Medical continued on Tuesday, as researchers from University of Michigan raised questions about claims that security researchers had actually “crashed” implantable pace makers.
The Big Short: Alleged Security Flaws Fuel Bet Against St. Jude Medical
In-brief: The stock of medical device maker St. Jude plunged by 5% on Thursday after a report called for investors to bet against (or “short”) the company’s stock over serious security vulnerabilities in a range of the company’s implantable cardiac devices.
