Petronella Cybersecurity News

We wrote on Friday that 16 hospitals were infected with WannaCry, a new strain of ransomware. In that article, we also mentioned that Spanish telecom Telefonica had been hit with it as well. We now have more details on that attack. The attack wasn’t limited to Spain, though. The company includes several large pan-European companies […]

Sixteen hospitals had to divert patients to other facilities today after a wave of ransomware encrypted vital documents. The 16 hospitals are spread throughout the United Kingdom. The National Health Service has advised patients not to seek medical help except for emergencies and acute ailments. While it’s not known for sure how or why the […]

According to a report by Herjavec Group, the trend for Black Hat Hackers to target not only hospitals but the healthcare industry in general began to skyrocket in 2016.  Unfortunately, that disturbing trend does not appear to be slowing in 2017, nor for the foreseeable future. The problem is that the industry is just too […]

Although no ransom was demanded, it has been determined that San Antonio-based ABCD Children’s Pediatrics’ patient records were compromised in two ways: the Dharma virus, which is in the same family as Crisis ransomware, and by suspicious user accounts on ABCD’s network. It’s believed that the sensitive information of 55,447 patients was stolen. This includes […]

TheDarkOverlord (TDO), a prolific Dark Web hacker, who hacked Netflix and released episodes of Orange is the New Black and is infamous for using Twitter to shame the organization that s/he has breached, made good on his/her Autumn promise to make stolen patient data public if an extortion demand was not paid. TDO was able to steal […]

A hacker known as “Skyscraper” reported that the records of approximately 500,000 children and their parents can be found on the dark web by simply searching “patients.”  While most of these records originate from compromised pediatricians using outdated software, still another 200,000 were actually taken from schools.   These records can be bought for around […]

You probably heard of the ransomware attack on the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center from last year. The hospital had to pay $17,000 in Bitcoin to regain access to its patient data. (And that’s just the beginning of the financial fallout from a healthcare cyber-attack) They found that the malware that encrypted their data entered their […]

Have you ever looked at America’s debt clock? Take a seat before you do, because it’s the type of horror that you can’t put into words. The basic idea behind governments issuing money is that a government has assets worth a certain amount. They print and issue money that represents the same value of a […]

A new phishing campaign is making the rounds, fooling tons of Google users into giving hackers access to their Gmail accounts. Here’s how it works. You get an email from someone you know who has sent you a Google Doc attachment. When you click the attachment, you go to a page that looks like a Google […]

When a company is hit by a cyber-attack, it’s embarrassing. It doesn’t matter if they took the proper precautions and were just unlucky, when one company is hacked and another is not the company that hasn’t been hit is going to be more attractive to customers no matter what. Don’t believe it? Check out our […]

Want to know why databases are dangerous? It’s as simple as putting all your eggs in one basket. If something happens to that basket, you’re out of eggs. But when it comes to databases, those eggs are people’s information. Email addresses, phone numbers, and full names are stored in a database and also happen to […]

With rising concerns over troubled financial institutions, many people may decide that burying their money in the desert a la Heisenberg might be a more practical solution than trusting their bank.  However, it might not be time – not just yet, anyway. Regardless of the many bankruptcies, takeovers, and mergers, most of our banks are still […]

Imagine that your neighbors agreed to look after your home while you were away on vacation.  Now imagine that they noticed a window was unlocked, and instead of locking it for you, they posted on Facebook about seeing it unlocked, leaving your home vulnerable to anyone who may have read the post. Now let’s say […]

In the past, we’ve told you about how manufacturers won’t make safer IOT devices until consumers demand it. We’ve also told you that downloading apps without verifying them might not hurt you now, but is the first crack that will lead to a larger breach in the future. Unfortunately, those facts are now combining into […]

Given the state of Healthcare IT security, if you’re in the healthcare industry you could probably use some good news. We recently posted an article on Blockchain and how it could be Healthcare’s answer to ransomware attacks. Blockchain worked by storing data in thousands of different places and also created unalterable records. That means that […]

When you log into a bank website, you probably don’t spend too much time worrying about the security of your information, right? How would you feel if a bank’s entire online presence had been compromised and was sending you malware? That’s what happened to one Brazilian bank. They didn’t just get hacked or hijacked, they […]

You know an issue is getting big when it’s featured on a primetime network TV show. That’s just what happened on a recent episode of NBC’s Chicago Med, where the hospital faces the fallout of becoming a victim of ransomware. You can watch the full episode for free here on Hulu.  

We often talk about hackers who breach networks and completely shut them down or steal personal information, but if every hack was that damaging most people would have sworn off technology by now. Even though every week we hear about another company that’s had a breach that will cost them millions, there are thousands of […]

It’s no secret that 2016 was a rough year for cybersecurity in the medical field. 21st century Oncology leaked 2.2 million patients’ information. Premier Healthcare lost unencrypted records for 200,00 patients. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical center shelled out $17,000 after a ransomware attack. And just to name a few. But when we look back on 2016, […]

There are a ton of people out there who hear about hacking and assume that since they’re an average person at a small company, they’ll never have to worry about cybercrime. In their mind, as long as they protect their identity online and cancel any lost credit cards they’ll never have to deal with the […]