Ransomware Attacks in the Healthcare Industry

Abstract

This paper explores the growing problem of ransomware attacks in the healthcare industry. It dives deep into the meaning of ransomware attacks and the basics of the attack such as how hackers gain access to data through the ransomware. Furthermore, this paper specifically focuses on hospitals and patients that are directly affected by the impact of ransomware attacks. This writing also includes information about noteworthy attacks in the health sector that have caught the attention of people around the world and how they were addressed. An aspect of Bitcoin has been added as cyber criminals demand ransom money in this currency from their victims. Lastly, this paper mentions steps that can be taken by hospitals to reduce the risk of getting infected by ransomware or what to do during a ransomware attack, such as having preventative safety measures in place with the use of antivirus software and Artificial Intelligence security systems as well has having a response plan during an attack. Apart from the Information Technology team in hospitals practicing these preventative measures, businesses and individuals should put in the time to implement these precautionary steps to ensure that they aren’t victims of ransomware attacks and that no one can gain access to any of their classified information. This paper was written by the researcher in a limited amount of time and the researcher was not able to conduct any of their own trials. Hence, all the information and data included has been previously collected from researchers around the world.