HIMSS guidance investigates latest malware, ransom threats

A recent cybersecurity environmental scan report from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) investigates new malware and ransom threats, provides new guidance from various sources and involves few new services from vendors.

For example, The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued an alert on the Avalanche botnet that distributes malware to victims and provides remediation measures. Information from the Internal Revenue Service can assist healthcare agencies targeted by tax fraud schemes.

Newer ransom threats involve GoldenEye, which is similar to Petya and Mischa malware and encrypts files while also locking the hard drive of computer. And then there is Popcorn Time, which is ransomware that doesn’t need a payment from its victims if they attempt to infect a couple friends, HIMSS reports.

Another innovation: To decrease credit card fraud with “card not present” transactions, OberThur Technologies makes a credit card with a security code that refreshes automatically and randomly each hour.

The HIMSS guidance further involves a link to Nova Labs, which provides a virtual cybersecurity lab to raise awareness within agencies. The lab is a game where players defend a company increasingly under attack by making better the defenses, cracking passwords and creating code.

The report of cybersecurity environmental scan is available here.