Updated 3/29/2023
INTRODUCTION:
Global
news and federal agencies consider cyber-attacks the next global PANDEMIC- the
kind that shuts down government infrastructures, banks, institutions and
medical centers. For medical offices,
these cyber-criminals pretty much shut down your entire practice rendering
victims completely helpless as they extort large sums of money in exchange for
releasing your data and your operating system.
Non-payment of the ransom often means the ultimate threat of exposing
your patients private data throughout the media and the dark web. Cyber-attacks growing
rampant each year- with statistics recorded to be as frequent as every 11
seconds! Trying to catch these attackers continues to be a major challenge and
this ruthless crime continue to grow. Now-
whether it's a cyber-attack or an infectious disease, the best ways to fight
away any attack are the same... EDUCATION AND PREVENTION!RANSOMWARE 101 (Part 1): By Adam Karp (Technology Review)
The
other component to be very aware of is that often, because the bad guys have
been in there for six to nine months prior, they're already embedded in your
backups. So if you think that you're
going to be able to restore from a backup from last week before the actual
ransomware payload was delivered, the the cyber criminals may already have a
back door in your existing backups. Next, if you managed to get past the payout and you finished your data restore process a week or so later, it's very common for them to just re-encrypt you all over again. It's like deja-vu and a bad nightmare. But it happens. So in order to make sure that the bad guys are actually gone from the network prior to that, there's a lot of work that needs to be done.
RECENT HEADLINES: CYBERCRIME ATTACKS IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY  3/29/2023 - Community Health Systems data breach may have exposed information of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre hospital patients 3/10/2023 - Ransomware Attack on Barcelona Hospital Threatened Urgent Care Cases, Locked Up Patient Records (Source, CPO Magazine) 1/17/2023 - Cyber security risk growing for small medical practices (Source: Medical Economics) 1/24/2023 - Smaller medical practices increasingly targeted for cyber attacks (Source: Urology Times) *All news sources are independent news outlets and are accessed through public search |
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In all cases, prevention is a lot more cost effective than remediation. But given the situation, remediation may be our only option so oftentimes, what happens next is that the insurance company will bring in their team of experts to do their own forensic analysis at the same time as when your IT company is trying to restore you. There are several conflicting motivations here that you should be aware of. It is common for business owners and I.T. to try to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. The insurance company will have a different perspective. They're more inclined to focus on data preservation and understanding of the forensics of how the infiltrators actually got in. Primarily, getting this information is key to confirming if they’re completely gone, or that they won't come right back five days (or so) later.
"DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN": THE CURRENT CULTURE IN PROTECTIVISM OF OUR DATA: Ransomware prevention and recovery calls for more than just one layer of protection. There's not one silver bullet that you can utilize to protect yourselves. It's a comprehensive and a layered approach to security. It is critical to combine security awareness training for your business and your end users because 9 out of 10 times, the infiltrators are led in the front door by an employee who accidentally clicked a link that was malicious. And with some basic training, you can minimize those types of risks by up to 95% which is significant. These types of phishing campaigns are increasingly sophisticated and they're always coming up with new methods. Hence, having ongoing security awareness training is crucial to protecting your organization.
"ZERO DAY" GOOGLE VULNERABILITY & THE GLOBAL COMPLACENCY
"EVERYONE ELSE BUT ME"
The Covid-19 pandemic was a hot time to get attacked! Reports showed a spike of over 30% in attacks to businesses and personal systems [7]. Admittedly, until a few years ago, I was part of this global elite (which translates to complacent and lazy) who counted on the sheer luck and hopes of having enough internet security, ignoring headlines of current cyber threats to many off my own Apps. I never updated my malwarebytes, ignored popups about updating browsers and haphazardly opened unknown eamils. My last virus attack was back in 2015-- leading me to think "so why should I get one now?" But after 6 of my friends and clients have actually been victimized by cybercrimes during the pandemic, I witnessed firsthand the true terror and destruction that this inflicts on one's actual LIFE. This made it all REAL for me! The last thing I would ever do again is ignore such warnings - especially from Google themselves.
Disclaimer: The information in this article and video insert is part of a public service by the publishers of this newsletter and the Professional Alliance of Medical Data Protection. It is not a commercial endorsement for any products, services or technologies. Please check with your I.T. consultant or advisor for all matters concerning internet security and data protection. Our publishers take no responsibility for the current or future state of your network security.
By: Roberta Kline, MD
Analyzing STRESS & ANXIETY from a holistic point of view means identifying the body’s interconnected systems (ie. circulatory, cardiovascular, nervous, lymphatic, endocrine etc.) and its many touch points for stimulation. This analysis should also offer a comprehensive breakdown of the body's HEALING capacity- which includes our hormones, digestive system, immune system, brain, heart-- all the way down to our cells and mitochondria. Stress is part of life, and comes in many forms including physical, emotional, mental and environmental. Foods we eat, unhealthy relationships, difficulties at work, toxins in our environment, even poor posture or lack of sunshine can all create stress on our bodies. But when stress is catastrophic or becomes chronic, it creates imbalances in this functioning that are much more likely to promote disease while at the same time preventing healing from taking place.
NEUROPLASTICITY: 8 Reasons We All Need to Learn About Brain Health- The word Neuroplasticity ignites a feeling of hope. For clinicians and therapists working with patients with all types of brain injuries, understanding neuroplasticity is crucial. Because neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new learning and new experiences, it can change both a clinician's choice of therapeutic techniques as well as the duration of the patient’s therapeutic program. We now know that, even in the absence of brain injury or illness, teaching people how to help their brain to more easily adapt, change and grow as we age is the key to maintaining cognitive health. That’s how we remain sharp and resilient into our advanced years, but there’s more to it than that. The answers to the following seven questions will help us to better understand why brain health education is so very important to all of us.
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