A recent cyberattack has had critical effects on one of Canada’s provincial health systems. Hitting Newfoundland and Labrador, the attack was believed to be in the form of ransomware, and originally took the system used to manage patient health and financial information offline, according to The CBC. This attack resulted in delays and disruption in services, including a temporary cancellation of nearly all non-emergency medical procedures.
Says David Shipley, CEO of a cybersecurity firm in Fredriction, of the attack on a Canadian service, “We’ve never seen a health-network takedown this large, ever. The severity of this is what really sets it apart.” Shipley also notes the growth in attacks on hospitals and other medical providers, saying “It has real impacts on human life and safety, and this is the worst of the worst.”
Current indications are that the federal government has reached out to assist the province with their recovery and response, with a statement being issued from the Communications Security Establishment saying, “We are actively engaged with government and non-government partners, sharing cyber security advice and guidance, mitigation, and operational updates,” while also noting it cannot comment on cybersecurity incidents.
Since the start of the pandemic, over 400 hospitals in Canada and the US have been the targets of ransomware attacks, according to The CBC.
Source:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-cyber-attack-worst-canada-1.6236210
