Jan 11
2024
Ransomware Attacks Kill One Patient a Month – So Stop Them
A new report by Emsisoft documents an increase in ransomware attacks in the US, with 2,207 US hospitals, schools and governments directly impacted in 2023.
According to the report, last year a total of 46 hospital systems and 141 hospitals were hit by ransomware attacks and at least 32 of the 46 systems had protected health information stolen.
Citing data from a University of Minnesota School of Public Health study, between 2016 to 2021, errors and delays from attacks on the US healthcare systems killed an estimated 42 to 67 Medicare patients, or about one per month.
“The longer the ransomware problem remains unfixed, the more people will be killed by it. The only viable mechanism by which governments can quickly reduce ransomware volumes is to ban ransom payments. Ransomware is a profit-driven enterprise. If it is made unprofitable, most attacks will quickly stop,” the report says.
Experts with Cigent, EchoMark and Horizon3.ai offer perspective: