Health care ransomware attacks flat amid pandemic: Report

While ransomware attacks overall increased in the first quarter, they remained flat for health care entities, according to a report issued Thursday.

The health care finding could reflect claims by several ransomware groups that they would avoid attacks on health care entities during the Covid-19 pandemic, speculates the report by Corvus Insurance Holdings Inc., a Boston-based insurtech managing general agency.

The report says the two primary vectors for ransomware attacks are open ports, places where an organization’s IT infrastructure connects to the wider web, and phishing emails.

The report says more than 75% of health care entities do not use email scanning and filtering tools, although these services are associated with a 33% reduction in the likelihood of a ransomware attack.

Experts say there are steps businesses can take to minimize ransomware attacks.