Ransomware is defined as a type of malicious software, or malware, designed to deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid , according to cisa.gov. Most medical facilities use a Windows server, an antivirus, combined with a HIPAA compliant security information and event management (SIEM) system to monitor their network..

How does it work? Ransomware typically spreads through phishing emails or websites. You might go to a website and get a popup to update your antivirus. The popup is fake but looks like something real. So you end up infecting your computer by trying to do the right thing. Most medical offices use Windows or Mac computers throughout their office as workstations. Hackers know this and that's why they program ransomware to affect these systems. They hope a nurse or office staff finds their exploit via email or website and execute it. Once executed, it will search for shared drives and attempt to encrypt all the data it can find, including the computer that executed the ransomware. If your medical software, such as your EHR, is running on a windows or mac server, the ransomware will attempt encryption of the database.

So how do I protect my practice? If you talk to a networking company, they will set you up on a $2,500 - $5,000 a month system to have real time monitoring (SIEM) for them to handle every detail such as setting up workstations, emails, user names and passwords. You would call them for anything to do with your workstations. This is an effective way to battle ransomware and one I would recommend if you run everything on Windows, including servers. You could hire your own IT staff but that's a headache and even more expensive. If you talk to your software provider, they will tell you "the cloud is the way to go." However, they are only talking about your EHR and or PM, you still are stuck with workstations to deal with and maintain.

Well thanks for nothing! Hold up. There is something else you can do. Something that does not involve expensive services or hiring an IT staff. Switch to Linux. Wait, don't stop reading, hear me out. Most distributions come with everything you need including an office suite. Ransomware does not work on Linux and neither do most viruses. Why? Because less than 1% of the market uses Linux in the office. However, all the big corporations like Google and Amazon use Linux as servers. Think about it. If you where a hacker, you wouldn't waist your time hacking something that only has 1% of the market. Apple computers are just now being attacked at 8% of the market.

MedTrio has set up full Linux based practices with on site or cloud based servers. We use Zoran, Ubuntu, POPOS as office workstations. The servers are all Linux based as well including (SIEM) HIPAA compliant monitoring software. If you don't want to let go of your Windows workstations, MedTrio has set up Linux domain controllers to prevent the network from being compromised. We use Linux OS to keep the call volume down. No problems, no calls. Are you having problems now? Contact us, let us help you.

#ransomware

Author: Brent Luyet

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