Business Consulting BlogVeritas Consulting LLC is a full service consulting firm to help your business or medical office prevent security threats. https://www.veritasconsultinggroup.com/blogLatest Virus Aggressively Targeting Healthcare Industry in 2017https://www.veritasconsultinggroup.com/blog/PostId/4/latest-virus-aggressively-targeting-healthcare-industry-in-2017General Practice Office,HIPAA Violations Security BreachTue, 18 Apr 2017 11:30:00 GMT<h1>Latest Virus Aggressively Targeting Healthcare Industry in 2017</h1> <div><br /> </div> <h2>Amateur hackers are going after hospitals and general practices at record levels using a virus named Philadelphia.&nbsp;</h2> <p>Philadelphia is a part of a ransomware spear phishing campaign geared to be a huge threat your medical facility regardless of size or location.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>What is spear phishing?&nbsp;</h3> <p>Spear phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails seemingly from a known and trusted sender that will encourage recipients to unknowingly reveal confidential information. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>What is Philadelphia?&nbsp;</h3> <p>Philadelphia was designed so that even the least experienced cybercriminal can give it a hack. These program is so slick, that the attack is unrecognizable until it is too late. Simply double clicking an icon will activate JavaScript to download your network. Scary!&nbsp; </p> <p>Usually, when you hear of a cyberattack at a large hospital corporation, most people would assume this virus was highly advanced and stealthy. Philadelphia is quite the opposite. With the lack of sophistication, hackers find that keeping it simple is an advantage.&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>How does Philadelphia get on my computer?&nbsp;</h3> <p>Philadelphia, like many other ransomware virus, becomes a threat when a seemingly trusted email is received and attachments are opened. In a general practice office, receiving patient records is nothing out of the norm.&nbsp; </p> <p>Ransomware contains icons similar to patient information. You could also receive an email from someone appearing to be another physician&rsquo;s office with an attached file, a medical record, for example. You or your staff opens it, and ransomware installs. </p> <p>While it is usual that those with the least IT experience, like your receptionist, to be easily targeted, this particular virus targets those with the highest security privileges.&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>How do they know who has the highest security privileges?&nbsp;</h3> <p>This type of information is easily gathered. A great deal of people have their job and title listed on their Facebook account, and other online social platforms. When people are proud of where they work, they proudly display it on social media. Doctors go to school for many years, so that MD or PhD is proudly wore. </p> <p>&nbsp;Why not show it off?&nbsp;</p> <p>While removing your profile information is probably the smartest thing to do, you can simply change the audience settings on your profile to friends only. You&rsquo;ll want to watch who you add as a friend.&nbsp; </p> <h3>How do I know if Philadelphia is on my computer?</h3> <p>Once Philadelphia is downloaded onto your computer, you will know. . A screen will open encrypting all of your patient files and any other records in your database. It will demand a &ldquo;ransom&rdquo; before it provides you with the decryption key. Ransom is usually requested in the form of Bitcoin. If this happens to you, DO NOT PAY!! There is away around this. <a href="http://www.veritasconsultinggroup.com/LinkClick.aspx?link=%2fContact-Us&amp;tabid=398&amp;portalid=5&amp;mid=1662" target="_blank">Contact us</a> and we will help you remove this virus for you.&nbsp; </p> <p>If you are familiar with viruses or ransomware, you may have heard of Stampado. Philadelphia is updated version of that virus. Through some investigation of this virus, we located a YouTube video on how to use Philadelphia. The ease of use is quite frightening.&nbsp; </p> <h3>How can I prevent this from happening?</h3> <p>Make sure you have the preventative measures in place, including education of your staff. Veritas Consulting, LLC, will evaluate your current system and show you any threats you may be vulnerable to and show you how to prevent it. We will educate you and your staff and keep you up-to-date with current threats.&nbsp;<br /> <a href="http://www.veritasconsultinggroup.com/LinkClick.aspx?link=%2fContact-Us&amp;tabid=398&amp;portalid=5&amp;mid=1662" target="_blank">Contact us</a> TODAY to learn more!</p> <div><br /> </div>4