May 11, 2016 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center makes headlines by opting to pay bitcoin ransom in order to quickly regain control of its computer systems
In recent weeks, hackers temporarily shut down MedStar Health—one of the biggest healthcare systems in the Washington, D.C. region—in the latest example of why cyberattacks are a threat not only to hospitals, but to anatomic pathology labs and clinical laboratories as well.
This latest incident is another example of a “ransomware” attack in which cybercriminals lock out computer users from accessing critical records and files. They then extort money by posting a digital ransom note warning users they must pay a ransom amount within a specific number of days if they want the digital key that will release their data.
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Feb 29, 2016 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Incident highlights need for anatomic pathology and clinical laboratories to protect computer and LIS systems from hackers and malware
Anatomic pathology labs and clinical laboratories that continue to run Microsoft Windows XP on their computer systems now have a real threat to address. In Australia, the computers in a hospital’s medical laboratory were infected in January with a computer virus that shut down the system. To maintain clinical services, the lab staff was forced to use paper-based methods, among other solutions.
The computer virus crippled the pathology department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and spread throughout the hospital system by targeting computers running Microsoft Windows XP. This is a 14-year-old operating system that Microsoft no longer supports.
According to a story in iTnews, the Qbot malware first infected computers in Royal Melbourne Hospital’s pathology department in mid-January, handcuffing the pathology department. Staff was forced to develop manual workarounds to process specimens and to record and communicate results. (more…)
