Ransomware is a type of malware from crypto virology that threatens to publish the victim’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system so that it is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses a technique called crypto viral extortion. It encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment. International law enforcement authorities during the height of the pandemic warned that hospitals and health-care facilities in multiple countries were being targeted in ransomware attacks.
Often a ransomware attack is the first phase of a multistage extortion attempt from cyber criminals. Criminals routinely demand millions of dollars to unlock the encrypted systems, and then follow that up by threatening to publish stolen data on the internet if they are not paid a second time.
On September 28, 2020, until October 7, 2020, Universal Health Services, which runs more than 400 healthcare facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom, has more than 90,000 employees and cares for about 3.5 million patients each year, had its IT network hit by a ransomware attack which left a number of its hospitals in the United States without access to computer and phone systems, including facilities in California, Florida, Texas, Arizona and Washington, D.C.
The ransomware attack managed to disable multiple antivirus programs in place on the targeted systems. Once the antivirus software was disabled, the malware caused the computers to log out and shut down, and if administrators attempted to reboot these systems, they simply shut down again. With their systems shut down, clinicians were unable to access vital information, including data found in their Electronic Health Record (EHR) or picture archiving and communication system (PACS) system.
In a MEMO format please discuss the following about the Universal Health Services (UHS) Ransomware attack of September, 2020:
Questions:
- What went well with the response?
- What were the significant challenges with the response?
- In which ways could the response have been improved?
- As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at one of the (UHS) healthcare facilities in the United States or Territories (Universal Health Services, Locations; pick one), how would you augment your healthcare facility’s preparation and response to protect and mitigate against future cyberattacks?
- Fayol’s Five Functions of Management: (a) Planning, (b) organizing, (c) coordinating, (d) commanding, and (e) controlling. Discuss ways in which you would use all five functions of Fayol’s Five Functions of Management, would influence the development of your plan.
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