The Age of Ransomware: New threats to the Healthcare industry, Data Security, and HIPAA Compliance

The threat of digital extortion has been looming over covered entities for years, but 2016 might be the most dangerous year to date. In fact, Healthcare IT News is reporting that approximately 75 percent of US hospitals are vulnerable to an attack.

These attacks are associated with the proliferation of ransomware – malicious software that holds sensitive information hostage until a ransom fee is paid to the hacker in question. Attacks against big name hospitals and government agencies often capture the headlines, but what isn’t publicized are the dozens of ransomware variants such as CryptoWall and Crypt0L0cker that extort smaller practices on a daily basis, leading to serious data breaches and violations of federal HIPAA regulation.

So how do I protect my practice from a ransomware attack?