Spine Care Practice Pays Ransom, Regains IT Systems

New Jersey Spine Center reported its six sites recently fell victim to a ransomware attack and ultimately made the decision to pay the ransom in order to regain control of its systems. The attack occurred on July 27, where cybercriminals used the popular CryptoWall ransomware virus. In a letter to patients, the organization explained, “the malware was detected by our virus protection software, but unfortunately not until after our electronic patient records were encrypted.” New Jersey Spine also reported that along with the network, the most recent backup of data and the phone system was also encrypted, giving the organization no other option. While the FBI advises to never pay the ransom, as it only encourages cybercriminals to launch more attacks and does not guarantee the files will be unlocked, more organizations are going against their advice, finding the payment to be worth the risk.