By: Thomas I. Likness
EBC News Service

(Eagle News) — Cybercriminals have taken advantage of the pandemic to prey upon healthcare organizations with ransomware, says Palo Alto Networks, a California-based cybersecurity company.

Ransomware operators tie up an organization’s computer network, making it unusable, and demand money to unlock it.

“Ransomware operators were brazen in their attacks in an attempt to make as much money as possible,” the company said in its 2021 Ransomware Threat Report. “Healthcare organizations – which needed to continue operating to treat COVID-19 patients and help save lives – couldn’t afford to have their systems locked out and would be more likely to pay a ransom.

Since the pandemic began, these extortionists have upped their demands.

In 2019, the average ransom paid to organization was US$115,123. That has gone up 171% to US$312,493. The highest ransom paid last year was US$10 million, according to the report.

At least 16 different ransomware variants are now threatening to expose data or utilizing leak sites, and more variants will likely continue this trend.

Palo Alto recommends organizations back up their data and keep an appropriate recovery process in place.
(Eagle News Service)