The United States and Canada are joining forces to fight cyberattacks in the wake of a spree of ominous hacking attempts on North American hospitals and the growing threat of “ransomware,” a type of virus that demands payment from the hacking victim.

One case that has raised the alarm in the health care sector was the cyberattack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles. Hackers infiltrated the hospital’s system and then demanded a ransom to leave. The hospital quickly paid the $17,000 ransom demanded in bitcoins, the cyber currency.

This week, MedStar, a major provider in the Washington D.C. area, opted to shut down much of its own computer network in response to a similar extortion attempt that demanded a ransom of $18,500.

The joint announcement from U.S. and Canadian authorities urged hacking victims not to pay ransoms.

"Paying the ransom does not guarantee the encrypted files will be released," it said. "It only guarantees that the malicious actors receive the victim’s money, and in some cases, their banking information."

In the case of Hollywood Presbyterian, the hospital stressed after the payment that it had regained full control of its system and that it had only made the payment because it believed it was the fastest and least costly way to get rid of the hackers. Although most experts agree that paying ransoms is not good for the industry in the long-term, they also expressed sympathy with the hospital’s decision in light of the circumstances.

Experts have also warned that the health care industry is far less prepared for cyberattacks than other industries with similarly tempting targets, such as the financial sector. In many cases, the health care data that hackers are targeting is worth far more than the information they could swipe from an individual’s credit card.

Instant Insights /

U.S. and Canada join forces to fight cyberattacks

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