Flat-lined by Ransomware: Attacks Force Medical Facilities to Go Out of Business

Since the beginning of this year, American medical companies have been constantly targeted by ransomware attacks. Marin Clinics, Quantum Vision, Talley Medical – these are just a few of the ransomware victims you may have read about in the past few months, but there have been many more.

• More than 320,000 patients were impacted as part of the ransomware attack on Premier Family Medical in Utah.
• More than 100 dental providers were thrown into chaos for nearly a month following a ransomware attack on vendors Digital Dental Record and PerCSoft.
• At Campbell County Hospital in Wyoming, an accident forced appointment cancellations, patient transfers, and other disruptions.

While these attacks interrupted the work and efficiency of these facilities, others have seen more serious consequences.

Wood Ranch Medical in California suffered a ransomware attack in August that not only encrypted regular data such as patient medical records, but their backups as well. After determining they had no way to recover the data or rebuild their patients’ medical records, the facility announced that it will permanently close its doors on December 17, 2019.

In April, Michigan's Brookside ENT and Hearing Center was forced to close after its systems were completely encrypted and cybercriminals demanded $6,500 to decrypt the patient files. The company reported that hackers wiped the entire system after they refused to pay the ransom.

Modern cyberthreats are constantly evolving, and now that cybercriminals are targeting backup software, files, and agents, anyone who still relies on traditional backup solutions are finding out the hard way that backup is no longer enough. Modern solutions need self-defense capabilities that can deal with new ransomware attacks.

That’s why it is important to choose a solution that:

• Detects and stops ransomware in real-time and automatically restores any affected files
• Includes self-defense capabilities that protect the backup software, files, and agents
• Enables you to easily follow the 3-2-1 backup, creating secure, off-site copies of your data

Cyber protection – which combines reliable data protection with cutting-edge cybersecurity – is the new standard for any individual or organization looking to safeguard their data.

Acronis integrates its AI-powered Acronis Active Protection defense into all of our cyber protection solutions – and this anti-malware technology has repeatedly been proven to be the best in independent testing. More importantly, it successfully stopped more than 400,000 ransomware attacks last year, saving users millions of dollars in downtime.

So whether your business needs the protection of Acronis Cyber Backup, or you’re a prosumer looking for the safety and security of Acronis True Image, you’ll have a battle-tested anti-ransomware defense capable of dealing with all known and unknown ransomware threats out there.