Healthcare facilities are under an increased threat of cyberattack, according to the FBI.
In a joint cybersecurity advisory with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the FBI warned of an “increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.”
While there are currently several strains of malware actively targeting healthcare facilities, the advisory primarily focused on TrickBot, a program with a wide range of tools capable of compromising computers and networks to exfiltrate data, intercept credentials, or deploy ransomware.
The advisory urged healthcare facilities to follow best practices to prevent malware infections, including:
- Regularly applying security patches to computers and networking equipment.
- Maintaining and updating antivirus software.
- Using multi factor authentication.
- Disabling unused remote desktop protocol (RDP) ports.
- Using air-gapped and password protected backups.
- Training employees in cybersecurity best practices.
