We recognize we aren’t a news outlet, but we also know how much the news can impact the decisions you make for your business. When it comes to IT Security Services, we want to share three ransomware cases that caused disaster to illustrate why your business needs to be sure software and hardware are updated and protected.
Alleged Hospital Error
Springhill Medical Center in Mobile, Alabama has reported that a baby died in part because hospital computers had been attacked by hackers. Because the IT infrastructure was compromised, the baby was born with severe brain injury, was not given proper care, allegedly. The mother is suing the hospital.
The hospital reports that they were operating at normal capacity when the attack occurred but had started turning patients away. Because doctors and nurses didn’t have access to key tests, the infant was born injured and passed away nine months later.
This story, no matter what happens in court, is tragic.
It also illustrates how ransomware cases that cause disaster are about more than data security. Hackers are harming the well-being of people and causing professionals to not be able to work as efficiently and precisely as they can when systems are not compromised.
Gas Pipelines & PR Nightmare
The Colonial Pipeline confirmed they paid $4.4 million to hackers in May 2021 after suffering a ransomware attack. As a result, they took the system offline, hoping to find a resolution so they could restart their power safely and quickly. When that didn’t happen, they made the decision to pay the hackers.
The FBI doesn’t recommend paying ransom to ransomware attackers because it only encourages more of the same but in this case, that’s what needed to happen. It was too big of a story and once it hit the news, it became a PR nightmare.
As the news spread to national newswires, there was a panic gas buying spree akin to the pandemic toilet paper hoarding. People across the southern and western states were worried there would be a gas shortage and rising gas prices if the pipeline took too long to come back online. It is for this reason, among others, that Colonial paid the ransom.
Without proper IT Security Services in place, there was panic buying and a PR nightmare, not to mention the huge cost of paying the ransom. We don’t want this to happen to your business!
Meat Production
The third ransomware case that caused disaster happened in June 2021 when the largest meat processing company was cyberattacked. The FBI reported that the attack exposed issues at Brazil-based meat processor that are yet to be resolved.
The result is slowed manufacturing and distribution which can cause food shortages, especially in food deserts where there aren’t many options for getting goods, like in rural areas.
We hope the company has now employed the services of a network security company to fix the issues that caused the ransomware attack.
While these are extreme examples of ransomware cases that caused disaster, we understand that compromised client, customer, employee, and patient data would harm your business.
FullScope IT Security Services includes a comprehensive approach and proactive strategies to prevent a disaster at your company so there is a reduced risk of external attack.
