America’s rural hospitals keep getting attacked by cybercriminals. Microsoft and Google are working to fix that
hospitals told CNN.
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Microsoft and Google will offer free or discounted cybersecurity services to rural hospitals across the United States to make them less vulnerable to cyberattacks that have disrupted patient care and threatened lives, the White House and those tech firms said Monday.
vvMicrosoft said in a statement to CNN that it would provide free security updates for eligible rural hospitals, as well as security assessments and training for hospital staff. Google will provide free cybersecurity advice to rural hospitals and start a pilot program to match the firm’s cybersecurity services with the needs of rural hospitals.
The nation’s roughly 1,800 rural community hospitals are among the most vulnerable to dangerous ransomware attacks because they often lack IT security resources and cybersecurity-trained staff. And they may be the only hospitals within dozens of miles, meaning a ransomware attack that prevents a hospital from accepting ambulances can put patients’ lives at risk.
The number of ransomware attacks against the US healthcare sector increased by 128% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to data released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. And recent ransomware attacks have brought the sector’s vulnerability into sharp relief.
A February ransomware attack on a major health insurance billing firm cut off health providers from billions of dollars and put some health clinics on the brink of bankruptcy. UnitedHealth Group, whose subsidiary was hacked, paid a $22 million ransom to the hackers to try to recover patient data. One third of Americans may have had their data stolen.