A ransomware attack launched on a Wisconsin based IT company is said to have disrupted the services of over 110 Nursing Homes across the United States. The company owner claims that the impact was not only harsh on the business but could have also lead to the demise of some patients.
Now, the company which is under discussion is Milwaukee based Virtual Care Provider Inc (VCPI) which is a firm into IT consulting, internet access, data storage, and security services. News is out that the malware attack on the cloud-based service provider has severely impacted more than 96 healthcare units across 45 United States and could have disrupted operations over 85,000 computers used across the hospital networks.
Cybersecurity Insiders has learned that the file-encrypting malware attack which took place on November 17 of this year was of RYUK Ransomware variant and is said to have encrypted all the data of the cloud services provider. Moreover, the hackers are said to be demanding a ransom of $14 million to free up the data with a decryption key.
In an interview given to KrebsonSecurity, VCPI owner Karen Christianson said that the business was severely affected by the ransomware attack and has virtually lost access to sensitive info which includes access to patient records, client billing, phone system communication, Payroll operations and info, Internet service, and email access.
As most of the nursing homes in the hospital network have access to VCPI cloud via Citrix based Virtual Private Network, the company is trying hard to restore access to this network as soon as possible.
An anonymous source reporting to our blog said that the company is on the verge of losing business which could lead to a shutdown. Furthermore, the IT disruption is said to have lead to the impact of serious data access operations to patient records which can lead to the death of some patients suffering from chronic diseases.
Karen Christianson has clarified that his company is not ready to pay the ransom and would depend on data backups instead.
