Network Diagnostics Part 1: How strong is your company’s cyber security?

Cyber attacks and data breaches have become a recurring trend in today’s society, and the most valuable currency is customer data. In the business world of sensitive customer records and data, virtually all consumer and company data is prized by hackers and worth protecting for your business.

As breaches become more common and destructive, organizations are still perplexed about coverage and, ultimately, uncertain about cyber insurance being a necessity. In this era of increasing regulation and public awareness of data security risks, you don’t want to risk critical information falling into the wrong hands. Every business should consider their exposure level in the event that sensitive data is compromised, and cyber security needs to be a top priority.

In 2016, a hospital in California was the victim of a ransomware attack. Hackers shut down the internal computer system at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for over a week, encrypting protected patient files, emails, billing, and other sensitive data.

The hackers were demanding $3.7 million in ransom before they would relinquish control of the information obtained from the hospital’s server. Tim Erlin, a spokesperson from the hospital, said that the attack “seriously degraded their ability to deliver care.”

 

continue reading »