Hackers hold Hollywood hospital's systems for ransom
The culprits demand $3.6 million for a ransomware key.
A Hollywood hospital is having to rely on pencil and paper after a ransomware attack. For more than a week, the computer systems at Hollywood Presbyterian Memorial Medical Center have been down at the hands of hackers. In addition to having to keep registration and logs on paper, staff is without email access and unable to use some patient records. Patients have been transported to other facilities as the computers needed to complete lab work, pharmacy tasks and CT scans are all unavailable.
Hospital officials say they're working with LAPD and the FBI on the investigation, but they've yet to determine who is responsible for the attack. President and CEO Allen Stefanek said the attack was random, and local news outlets report that the breach shows signs of a ransomware-style bug. Details on the intrusion are still quite scarce, but the culprits are demanding 9,000 bitcoin or just under $3.6 million in exchange for the key to restore the facility's systems.
