Los Angeles hospital pays ransom to regain computer system
Hospital Safety Insider, February 18, 2016
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A hospital in Los Angeles paid a ransom equivalent to around $17,000 in bitcoins to get its computer systems back up and running, according to a report from CNN.
According to the report, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center staff noticed issues accessing its computer network on February 5. Apparently, a malware computer virus had locked access to certain computer systems and prevented electronic communications.
Hospital officials quoted in the report said to restore normal operations, they decided the quickest solution was to pay the ransom and obtain the decryption key. The price to regain access was 40 bitcoins, equivalent to around $17,000, the report said. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency.
The report also said the hospital had contacted law enforcement and was working with a team of experts to better understand the attack, as well as cooperating with an ongoing FBI investigation.
Read more here.
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