Hackers have hit 3 Ontario Hospitals with ransomware their computer systems have been lock offline and its creating major delays and problems. The attacks are raising concerns about privacy and security. Ransomware it is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
but This particular ransomware is called ryuk , is named after a Japanese cartoon character and what it does is lock down files and saves a ransom note within the computer system. In this case, the 3 hospitals all said they have not paid any ransom and the hospital also never reveal the specific amount was discussed and indeed the RCMP tells any user not to pay a ransom if you are a victim of a ransomware attack.
And the only solution in the case of ryuk is to clear your files reconfigure to what they were before the attack but we spoke with a cyber expert who told us that might not be possible/ work.
WHY Are Hospital Being Targeted For Ransomware Attack
The expert stated, they are a bit different when you compared to other business because they rely on specialized software the is often tied to an older version of windows that cannot easily be upgraded. they cant simple upgrade to the latest version of windows which in many cases leaves them vulnerable to this sort of hack.
Think back to 2017 there was the wannacry which was the global ransomware attack that affected millions of hospital around the world and in that case, many of those hospitals use an old version of windows and were left vulnerable.
Cybersecurity expert says they trace rynuk back to Russia it was probably created there sometime last year but there are apparently many criminal groups who are exploiting it using it to attack organisations and in this case hospitals in Ontario.
One thing that makes it unique is it stays in the computers systems for weeks or month and allows the hackers to figure out what kind of financial information you have and whether you have any money to potentially pay for a ransom and collect any kind of critical information that they can sell on the dark web.
This is a warning to many hospitals and other organizations out there that may be affected without even knowing.
