Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Oklahoma Hospital Says Ransomware Hack Hits 133,000 People

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 19, 2024

An Oklahoma hospital quickly restored its IT systems after a ransomware attack in September, but the 62-bed hospital could not recover some data and later learned that hackers may have accessed the personal information of 133,000 people. The attack is the latest involving a small rural hospital.

Gang Shaking Down Pharmacy Group for Second Ransom Payment

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 18, 2024

Ransomware group Embargo is threatening to publish nearly 1.5 terabytes of data allegedly stolen in an attack on American Associated Pharmacies, a collaborative of 2,000 independent pharmacies. The gang is shaking down AAP for the second installment of an alleged agreed-up ransom deal.

One Brooklyn Agrees to $1.5M Settlement in 2022 Hack Lawsuit

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 15, 2024

A New York state court has approved a preliminary $1.5 million settlement of a consolidated proposed class action lawsuit against One Brooklyn Health System following a November 2022 cyberattack that involved theft of sensitive health data belonging to more than 235,000 people.

Trump Picks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Head HHS

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 14, 2024

President elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary to head up the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His stances on health information privacy, security and healthcare sector cyber matters are not well known.

Cyber Incident Response: Playbook for Medical Product Makers

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 14, 2024

A new playbook from the Health Sector Coordinating Council aims to help manufacturers of medical products such as pharmaceuticals, devices and durable equipment plot out and improve their response to ransomware attacks and other cyber incidents.

Feds Warn of Godzilla Webshell Threats to Health Sector

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 13, 2024

Godzilla webshell, a Chinese-language backdoor known for its stealth and ability to execute commands and manipulate files, is publicly available on GitHub, and federal authorities have issued a stern warning to the healthcare sector to prepare for this threat and inevitable cyberattacks.

Court Finalizes $8M Settlement in Orrick Data Breach Case

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 12, 2024

A federal court has finalized an $8 million settlement in a consolidated proposed class action lawsuit against law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe involving a hack that affected several clients and more than 638,000 individuals. It is one of several law firms facing similar data breach problems.

Embargo Ransomware Gang Sets Deadline to Leak Hospital Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 11, 2024

Embargo, a newcomer group to the ransomware scene, is threatening to begin publishing 1.15 terabytes of data belonging to a small rural Georgia hospital and nursing home attacked last week unless a ransom is paid before Tuesday. Experts say the double extortion gang disables victims' security tools.

Feds Warn Health Sector of an Array of Cyberthreats

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 8, 2024

Federal authorities are warning the healthcare sector of an array of cyberthreats - including Scattered Spider hacks, living-off-the-land attacks, and bad actors looking to exploit weaknesses such as F5 misconfigurations and also so-called "Miracle Exploit" flaws in some Oracle software.

Law Firm Hack Compromises Health System's Patient Data

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 7, 2024

A hacking incident at Thompson Coburn, a national law firm based in Missouri, has affected an unspecified number of patients of a healthcare sector client, Presbyterian Healthcare Services in New Mexico. But a big unanswered question is whether other clients were affected.

Trump's Return: Impact on Health Sector Cyber, HIPAA Regs

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 6, 2024

With Donald Trump set to return to the White House to serve another four-year term as U.S. president, what might the healthcare sector expect to see when it comes to his next administration's cybersecurity priorities and HIPAA regulations and enforcement? Experts weigh in.

Could New Cyber Regs Be in the Future for Clinicians?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 5, 2024

Federal regulators are again signaling that stronger cybersecurity practices could be tied to financial incentives for doctor offices that participate in Medicare. The regulatory lever may be the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Merit-based Incentive Payment System.

Attack Hits Small Rural Georgia Hospital, Nursing Home

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 4, 2024

A small community hospital and its nursing home in rural Georgia have resorted to paper charts and other manual process for patient care as they deal with a ransomware attack discovered Saturday that knocked its electronic health records and other IT systems offline.

Doctor Hit With $500K HIPAA Fine: Feds Worse Than Hacker

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 1, 2024

Dr. James Breit recalled the day a hacker locked up his systems with ransomware at his plastic surgery practice. He paid $53,000 in ransom. Nearly, seven years later, after paying a $500,000 HIPAA fine, Breit claims he got better treatment from the cybercriminals than he did federal regulators.

Medusa Ransomware Hack of Pathology Lab Affects 1.8 Million

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  October 31, 2024

A Colorado-based pathology laboratory is notifying more than 1.8 million patients that their sensitive information was compromised in an April hack, one of the largest breaches reported by a medical testing lab to U.S. federal regulators to date. Ransomware gang Medusa is blamed for the attack.