Ransomware Hits Smaller Hospitals, Clinics Least Prepared for It

Olean Medical Group CEO Christine Strade received a text June 11 telling her the group’s electronic medical record system was down. That’s how she learned her company had been cyber-attacked.

“I didn’t think much of it, but once we rebooted the system, it was still down. And then we got a screen that said ‘Ryuk’ and had two e-mail addresses,” Strade said in an interview. Ryuk is a particular strain of ransomware that locked Olean out of all of its patient files and demanded a payment to restore access.

Olean is still sorting through the damage a month-and-a-half later. The ...