Los Angeles hospital pays ransom to regain computer system
Hospital Safety Insider, February 18, 2016
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Insider!
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.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Insider!
Related Products
-
Hospital Safety Center
Improve compliance with hospital safety standards from The Joint Commission, OSHA, and other regulators with this...
-
Healthcare Life Safety Compliance
Created exclusively for healthcare facility managers, plant operations professionals, and directors of engineering, this...
-
Hospital Safety Insider
Stay on top of hospital safety requirements and best practices with our free, fast-paced weekly update.
-
Basic OSHA Compliance Manual Kit
Total compliance has never been easier. This one convenient package contains everything you need to ensure your outpatient...
-
Basic Dental OSHA Compliance Manual Kit
Total compliance has never been easier. This one convenient package contains everything you need to ensure your dental...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- CMS seeks comment on quality measures
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- Reimbursement for Facility and Professional Services in a Provider-Based Department by Gina M. Reese, Esq., RN
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Skills of effective case managers
- Implications of CMS Changes to H&P Requirements
- Neurological checks for head injuries
- E-mailed
-
- Correctly code for new cardiac, pulmonary rehab benefits
- TJC spilling too many beans? CMS thinks so
- Tip: Coding pressure ulcers in ICD-10-CM
- Q/A: Revenue codes for drug charges
- Q&A: Bill blood administration the same way for inpatient and outpatient accounts
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Neurological checks for head injuries
- Know the medical gas cylinder storage requirements
- Ensuring clear and concise documentation critical for case managers
- Coding Clinic for CDI:Reassessing debridement documentation
- Searched
