COVID-19 is not the only Virus Plaguing the Health Sector

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Cybercriminals are deliberately targeting the health industry at a time when it is at its most vulnerable. Hackers are aggressively attacking hospitals, medical practices and clinics that are focused on patient’s needs. They know that staff are under pressure and less likely to be alert to their attention.

Ransomware attacks have serious implications which include locking doctors and nurses out of critical information such as patient medical histories and drug dosages.

According to IBM, the number of emails using false information to trick people into infecting computers increased 14,000% in just two weeks! An example is a phishing message impersonating a US government agency with a COVID-19 update containing a document that if clicked, enables a remote access tool on the victim’s computer.

Scams include emails posing as being from government officials offering virus-testing kits. Emails appear legitimate but contain fake links. Workers at home can easily click on that familiar link with a ‘trigger finger’. By then, it may be too late.

Experts suggest that, due to the long duration of the pandemic, phishing gangs are investing in developing more elaborate scams, such as posing as medical suppliers and conning hospitals and clinics into buying nonexistent goods from them.

Fight Back with a Compromise Assessment

Advantage is New Zealand’s only Blackberry Cylance Compromise Assessment partner, allowing them to deliver this leading service to the New Zealand market.

Having responded to numerous governments, defence and enterprise cybersecurity incidents, Blackberry Cylance, a world-leading incident response organisation have developed an agentless compromise assessment tool, providing visibility across an entire enterprise quickly and effectively.

The Cylance Compromise Assessment (CA) was designed to detect indications of compromise such as data exfiltration and sabotage, command and control activities, user account anomalies, or malware infection. The artefacts are used to detect active or historical cybersecurity breaches.

As the solution is agentless, customers do not need to be active Cylance users, and it is compatible with networks of all kinds, including OT and ICS systems.

After the assessment, a comprehensive report is provided to the customer that includes details on detected activity, the current risk state and strategic recommendations for remediation.

“This service is aimed at medium to large organisations and takes around 4-6 weeks of engagement,” says Steve Smith, Advantage Regional Executive. “Once threats have been assessed and mitigated, you will have the ability to draw a line in the sand, with all systems cleaned, and be well prepared for a health check a year later.”

To discuss a Compromise Assessment for your organisation, contact Advantage today on phone 0800 358 8999 or via the website.

Source: Advantage media release, 3 April 2020

Sector updates are provided by organisations to eHealthNews.nz and have not necessarily been edited or checked for accuracy. Any queries should be directed to the organisation issuing the release.

For more information and resources about COVID-19 go to https://www.hinz.org.nz/page/covid19

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