O
ne day in mid-March, the staff of the Harrisburg (Pa.)
Endoscopy and Surgery Center looked at their com-
puters to find nothing but gibberish. Where there
were once patient files — dates of birth, health histo-
ries and Social Security num-
bers — there were only scribbles and symbols.
"It was like hieroglyphics," says Bill Rhodes,
CST, CGA, the center's administra-
tor.
They'd been hacked.
Cyberattacked. In this case, a "ran-
somware attack," which is as sinis-
ter as it sounds. Hackers hold your
facility's data ransom, demanding
money before releasing the infor-
mation. The hack was soon fol-
lowed by an email from the hack-
ers, demanding a little less than
$30,000 to return the patients'
files, says Mr. Rhodes.
The center waited a few
days, trying to find other
• HACK ATTACK Cyber criminals can
hold your data ransom, disable your
computer network or access your
patients' private information and
sell it online.
4 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 7
Is Your Data
Secure?
Take these steps today to protect your facility from a cyberattack.
Anna Merriman
Associate Editor
