Savannah’s Largest Hospital System Ransomware Attack

A growing trend in cybercrime attacks in the healthcare industry has recently hit Savannah’s largest hospital system, St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital. Officials of the said hospital first discovered the ransomware attack on the morning of June 17.

As an immediate measure, they have switched to backup systems to slow down the processes in some affected areas. Although there has been no cancellation of scheduled procedures or surgeries, hospital spokesman Scott Larson stated.

The FBI and other government agencies continue to investigate the case. While another impact from the attack has so far been mitigated, St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital health system is not back to normal yet.

According to IBM Security Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020, the average time to identify and contain a data breach is 280 days. However, the largest data breach in history lasted for 30 years. But that was an isolated case.

In a ransomware attack, hackers typically use software to encrypt a victim’s files. They then sneak it into the system and demand a ransom to restore the data.

St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital has not released any information regarding the attack. It’s not clear how much the hackers are demanding for the ransom or what time the attack was discovered. The management also refuses to admit if there is indeed a ransom demand.

However, Paul P. Hinchey, the hospital’s CEO, quickly issued a statement a week following the attack.

He was quoted as saying that they are working diligently and safely to resolve the issue. They are following a methodological approach in bringing all their systems back online while prioritizing patient care simultaneously.