Tag Archive for: Iot

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Largest Medical Cyberattack in US History?

Universal Health Systems is a major US hospital and healthcare provider that has more than 400 different locations throughout the country. The hospital system was hit with one of the largest medicals cyberattacks ever in the United States. Experts believe it could be the biggest ever.

The attack, that left the IT network offline across the 400 healthcare facilities, was reported as a security incident. The facilities had to resort to their back-up plan which includes offline documentation methods. Nurses had to work with pen and paper and could not access their medication system. Many reported that their computers either shut off on their own or slowly stopped working.

The way the entire system was compromised at once and many computers seemed to be taken over, makes this seem like a ransomware attack. Many experts are speculating that this is the case. We know that cybercriminals like to target healthcare systems because the probability of a ransom payment is higher. Hospitals would rather pay than have a patient become more injured, sick, or die due to a security incident.

Protect your business

To protect the organization, company IT security programs should be in the hands of professionally managed security teams or outsourced to managed security firms. Ostra Cyber Security is the professionally managed security team for your business. Managing everything from desktops and laptops, to tablets and BYODs, Ostra’s technology keeps everyone safe.

Want to find out more? Visit Ostra.net or contact us today at protection@ostra.net

https://bit.ly/30ov82h

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House Passes Legislation To Set Internet Of Things Security Standards

A new bill that was just passed will require that all Internet of Things devices purchased by the US government must meet set security requirements. Internet of Things devices is any everyday objects that connect via the internet to send/receive data. Things like smartwatches, smart home security devices, and wireless inventory trackers are all IoT devices.

This bill, called the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act, instructs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to enforce security standards that any government agency needs to follow when buying IoT devices.

“These devices must be secure in order to protect Americans’ personal data.” Rep. Kelly (IL)

Even though this bill doesn’t directly improve the security of millions of consumer Internet of Things devices that are already being used by Americans. Such as home voice assistants, smart TVs, and smartwatches. It is still a huge deal for long-term IoT security. Because government agencies are big customers, IoT manufacturers will have to adjust to meet the new standard if they want to keep their business. Most IoT manufacturers sell to the government and consumers, so it should encourage them to only follow one set of standards. Resulting in improved security standards for all future IoT devices.

Stay protected

This bill gives manufacturers 2 years to update their security standards. Some say this is too long of a wait considering there are currently millions of devices in the US that could be vulnerable to unknown or known exploits.

Ostra Cyber Security provides active network defense protection for your home or businesses’ Internet of Things devices and acts immediately instead of monitoring and alerting as many antiviruses do.

Want to find out more? Visit Ostra.net or contact us today at protection@ostra.net

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