US medical device-maker Boston Scientific said last week that a cybersecurity incident had disrupted global operations, including some information systems used to process and ship customer orders – joining numerous healthcare corporations, including Novo Nordisk, that have been targeted recently, reports Reuters.
This latest attack was detected on 25 August and had activated incident-response procedures, working with third-party cybersecurity specialists, to investigate and contain the threat, said the company.
The healthcare sector has been pummelled by the cyber criminals recently, with – apart from Novo Nordisk – device-makers Abbott Laboratories, Stryker and Medtronic, health insurer Clover Health, and drug-delivery equipment supplier West Pharmaceutical Services, being among those hit.
The attack is expected to continue affecting parts of the company’s business while recovery efforts are under way, Boston Scientific said, adding that an investigation was ongoing, but the full scope and nature of the incident had not yet been determined.
In June, Novo Nordisk said it had identified an IT security incident involving unauthorised access to a limited number of internal IT systems. It said this involved unauthorised access to certain personal data stored on the internal IT systems.
Cyber extortion groups, including FulcrumSec and TheUSERS007, had apparently claimed responsibility and alleged they stole more than a terabyte of data – demanding ransom payments of $25m.
Novo Nordisk refused the ransom demands, took compromised internal systems offline, and noted that core business operations and manufacturing facilities remained fully functional.
Reuters article – Boston Scientific hit by cyber-attack, global operations affected (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
100 Romanian hospitals switch to pen and paper after cyber attack
Cyber attacks create havoc in state hospitals in SA, and globally
Cyber thieves post patients' data stolen from Australian medical insurer