26 June 2024

Cyberattacks are costly, and can be deadly: Cyber expert

RICH JOHNSON

Cyberattacks have played havoc with the bottom lines of companies all over the world. They’re also starting to kill people.

Hackers “want to go attack folks who are going to pay,” said cybersecurity expert David Malicoat. “They want that money as quickly as possible.”

In one case earlier this year, a Michigan woman with low blood sugar went into cardiac arrest and died after a cyberattack targeted the system reporting lab results. A nurse in Kansas said confusing paperwork caused him to nearly give the wrong dose of a drug to a baby in neonatal intensive care.

Both incidents stemmed from an attack on Ascension, a Catholic health care system operating more than 140 facilities nationwide.

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