Tag Archive for: Local

Ransomware attacks targeting local healthcare groups


Barbara McAneny with the New Mexico Cancer Center says they have had to change the way they work due to a string of ransomware attacks on Optum and United Health Care. “This is an important development for every health care entity in the country,” McAneny said.With Optum being one of their partners, it’s affected a number of services they provide.”Our ability to check whether or not patients are authorized by their insurance to get a prescription or treatment went away,” McAneny said.Due to the attack on Optum, the center also can’t submit claims or receive payments. Tech experts wonder how an attack like this continues to affect the health care industry.”It’s interesting given that the impact is so great that you would think that we would have turned the corner many years ago and started beefing up, you know, our cyber security programs in that space,” Deron Grzetich said.The New Mexico Cancer Center has not had its information breached — and has not been victim to this ransomware attack. But McAneny is concerned for other practices in the state and how this affects people’s ability to receive prescriptions, and if personal information is being stolen through other providers.Other groups affected by these ransomware attacks are UnitedHealth and Change Healthcare. “Anyone who’s filled a prescription or seen a physician or dentist or any health care provider is at risk to have their own personal identity stolen,” McAneny said.In the wake of this attack, she offers this to calm anyone seeking help at the cancer center.”We are going to be treating our patients as we always have,” McAneny said.She says the center is still able to fill prescriptions in-house, but can’t send orders to outside pharmacies.

Barbara McAneny with the New Mexico Cancer Center says they have had to change the way they work due to a string of ransomware attacks on Optum and United Health Care.

“This is an important development for every health care entity in the country,” McAneny said.

With Optum being one of their partners, it’s affected a number of services they provide.

“Our ability to check whether or not patients are authorized by their insurance to get…

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Local city’s functions restored, $350K used to handle ransomware attack


After spending over a quarter of a million dollars to investigate a ransomware attack a local city is still searching for answers.

Blondezena Williams lives in Huber Heights and shared her concerns.

“They’re going to have to get it from somewhere right?” she said.

Williams is talking about the $350,000 Huber Heights paid to fix issues caused by the ransomware attack.

The attack happened on Nov. 12.

There are no cutbacks scheduled at this time.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Huber Heights provides update on cyber attack, says some services restored

“I prefer that they didn’t cut anything because we are still growing and to see a stagnation now would not be a good idea,” Williams said.

Many people are concerned about their personal information being compromised.

“Somebody from the Y(MCA) asked if I sent him a message and asked him for money and I said ‘no I didn’t,” Priscilla Klinedinst said.

She is always on alert now.

She is also worried about the plan of attack going forward.

“I would hate to see the police force be cut because I think we need them,” Klinedinst said.

Huber Heights City Council is still working on getting answers to if personal information was stolen.

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Defiance city officials sorting through computer security breach | Local News





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Local students take part in ‘hack’ event | News


About 100 seventh through 12th grade students from Bedford, Blair and Cambria counties, including students from Bedford and Everett school districts and HOPE for Hyndman Charter School, recently participated in Major League Hacking’s Global Hack Week, hosted by South Hills School of Business & Technology in Altoona.

The event included multiple interactive STEM sessions designed by South Hills students, faculty and area technology professionals including “A Scavenger Hunt ‘Capture the Flag’ Challenge in the Cloud”; “Creating Your First Website on GitHub”; “Computers Worldwide”; “Moving Data for the Olympic Games”; “Building a Computer and Hardware in the Cloud”; “Create a Minecraft Server in the Cloud and PLAY”; “Cloud Security for the US Department of Defense”; and “Cybersecurity Careers.”

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