Cybercriminals Targeting ‘Critical Healthcare’ with Ransomware During COVID-19 Outbreak

Pune : Cybercriminals are attempting to lockout hospitals out of critical systems by attempting to deploy ransomware on their networks during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. These ransomware appears to be spreading primarily via e-mails – often falsely claiming to contain information or advice regarding the coronavirus from a government agency, which encourages the recipient to click on an infected link or attachments.

Cyber Security Expert Mr. Adesh Nandkishor Kolte recommends hospitals and healthcare organizations to always keep their software and hardware up to date, and to back up their data onto offline storage devices to block potential attacks from reaching them. Hospitals and other organizations targeted by ransomware attacks are advised to take the following measures to protect systems-

• Only open emails or download software/applications from trusted sources.

• Do not click on links or open attachments in emails which you were not expecting to receive, or come from an unknown sender.

• Secure email systems to protect from spam which could be infected.

• Backup all important files frequently, and store them independently from your system (e.g. in the cloud, on an external drive).

• Ensure you have the latest anti-virus software installed on all systems and mobile devices, and that it is constantly running.

• Use strong, unique passwords for all systems, and update them regularly.