It took the healthcare organization nearly one year to publicly disclose a data breach after it was targeted by Inc Ransom.
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Some of the vulnerabilities discovered by Aisle can be exploited to access and alter sensitive patient information.
The post 38 Vulnerabilities Found in OpenEMR Medical Software appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday explored ways to beef up punishments for ransomware attacks against hospitals, possibly by labeling them as more severe crimes.
One proposal floated at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, to treat ransomware attacks as terrorism, is an idea Congress has flirted with before. Another would be to press prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in attacks on hospitals where death resulted — something German authorities also once pondered.
A former top FBI cyber official, Cynthia Kaiser, put forward both ideas at the hearing, a joint meeting of the subcommittees on Border Security and Enforcement and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection on cybercrime, drawing questions and interest from members.
“I believe there are no penalties too severe for individuals that would target our health care system,” said Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest, chair of the border subcommittee, whose home state of Mississippi’s health care clinics closed following a February ransomware attack.
The suggestions stem from a growing focus by ransomware attackers on the health care sector, with incidents doubling from 238 in 2024 to 460 in 2025 according to FBI statistics, making it the top targeted sector.
Kaiser, now senior vice of the Halcyon ransomware research center, said terrorism designations from the State, Treasury and Justice departments could lead to further sanctions, restricted travel and other punishments. Justice Department guidance on homicide charges could clarify its authorities, she said.
“It sounds like the language is there, it just has not been applied in these circumstances,” said Rep. Lou Correa of California, the top Democrat on Guest’s subpanel.
The notion of more closely entwining cyberattacks and terrorism is something both Congress and the executive branch have examined recently.
The fiscal 2025 Senate intelligence authorization bill would have directly linked ransomware to terrorism, although the final version of the bill that became law was less explicit than the original Senate language. The Treasury Department last month asked for public feedback on changing a terrorism risk insurance program to address cyber-related losses.
A University of Minnesota study from 2023 estimated that hospital ransomware attacks were responsible for dozens of deaths of Medicare patients. German authorities in 2020 opened a negligent homicide investigation following a death in the aftermath of a ransomware attack, but ultimately decided against charges.
The Trump administration’s national cyber strategy advocates for taking a more offensive approach to hackers. It released an executive order on cybercrime and fraud the same day it published the strategy. Kaiser said the proposals are in line with those approaches.
Hackers know their attacks could end lives, she said. “They have simply decided these deaths are someone else’s problem,” Kaiser said.
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Data breaches were disclosed by Southern Illinois Dermatology, Saint Anthony Hospital, and North Texas Behavioral Health Authority.
The post Data Breaches at Healthcare Organizations in Illinois and Texas Affect 600,000 appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Cookeville Regional Medical Center was targeted last year by the Rhysida ransomware group, which stole 500GB of data.
The post Data Breach at Tennessee Hospital Affects 337,000 appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Signature Healthcare was forced to cancel some services, and pharmacies are unable to fill prescriptions due to the hacker attack.
The post Massachusetts Hospital Diverts Ambulances as Cyberattack Causes Disruption appeared first on SecurityWeek.
In January 2026, a threat actor hacked the hospital’s internal network and stole personal and health information.
The post 250,000 Affected by Data Breach at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital appeared first on SecurityWeek.
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