Hospital pays ransomware fee only to get a SECOND ransom…

A hospital in Kansas was hit by a ransomware attack, and after paying up, the scammers demanded even more money.

Ransomware – that pesky and incredibly dangerous malware strain that encrypts all the files on your hard drives or data servers – has surged dramatically over the last few years, and the recommended advice we and others have been giving is to NOT PAY if you happen to find yourself infected with it.

Doing so provides no guarantee you’ll get your data back and only provides further motivation for scammers to continue their attacks.

Sadly Kansas Heart Hospital in Witicha did pay the ransom. However they only got ‘partial access’ to their information, and the scammers demanded even more money for full access.

A very audacious move from the criminals, but sadly, it is them who hold all the cards, and there is very little the hospital can do about it. Many ransomware strains use essentially unbreakable encryption, meaning its the criminals who choose when the hospital get their files back.

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Managing Director of Kansas Heart Hospital stated they would not pay the second ransom, saying that doing so was not “a wise manoeuvre or strategy”. For future reference, nor is paying the first demand.

The hospital assured that no important customer healthcare information had been compromised.

Why the hospital got a second demand is not known. It is possible the hospital was struck with two instances of the same ransomware, each requiring a different decrypt key, thus the second demand. Or, of course, it is possible the scammers just got greedy and decided to continue the extortion.

Either way, remember that there are ways you can protect yourself from ransomware, and you – and your employees – need to know what to look out for. Read our article about ransomware and how to avoid it here.