US Los Angeles County Department of Health Services 2016 Malware Attack (Q9074)

From Open Risk Manual
A data breach risk event
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US Los Angeles County Department of Health Services 2016 Malware Attack
A data breach risk event

    Statements

    January 2016
    0 references
    Los Angeles County Department of Health Services computers have been targeted in a "ransomware" cyberattack, officials said Friday. Ransomware is a type of malware that takes control of computers and cuts off users' access to files or threatens to destroy them unless a ransom is paid. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center officials said earlier this month that they had paid a $17,000 ransom in bitcoin to a hacker who seized control of the hospital's computer systems. The attack on the Los Angeles County health department was on a smaller scale. Spokesman Michael Wilson said the agency had identified remnants of a ransomware thread on five work computers Wednesday, but that operations had not been affected. "There has been no spread of any ransomware virus or compromise of any DHS netw (English)