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The San Diego-based hospital system has reverted to manual paperwork as suspected ransomware attack continues.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – Scripps Health, a top healthcare system in California, was hit by a cyberattack this past weekend. As a result, the network has been forced to revert to manual data entry with pen and paper, and has been forced to turn away emergency patients.

Scripps Health acknowledged that they fell victim to an attack, but did not go in depth on the type of attack, or if there are known suspects. It is also unknown whether patient records were compromised, which will have a massive impact on the total costs associated with the attack. HIPAA violations can run over $50,000/record, leading to unfathomable losses when thousands of records are breached.

Other Healthcare Attacks

Hospitals and healthcare systems are a top target for hackers, especially in ransomware attacks. Because downtime is so catastrophic in the healthcare industry, hackers believe these types of victims will be faster to pay their ransom demands. Additionally, criminals tend to target organizations with dated cybersecurity practices and network architecture, which fits the description of many hospital networks.

Last September, ransomware shut down Fortune 500 healthcare network Universal Health Services. Similarly, they were forced to use paper forms and divert emergency patients.

That same month, ransomware struck

Cybersecurity Takeaway: Vulnerability Assessments are Key

The Scripps attack is believed to have hit both email and backup servers, but how the criminals got into Scripps’ system remains unknown. At Evolve, we believe employee training is the #1 step you can implement today to better protect your organization, as human error remains the top cause of cyberattacks. But what about threats beyond human error?

It is a best practice to routinely conduct vulnerability and/or penetration testing on your network to find areas of potential weakness. All Evolve policyholders receive a free vulnerability assessment from industry leader BitSight, one of Evolve’s 6 Free Risk Management Providers.

Related: Homicide Charges Filed in German Ransomware Attack