The University of Vermont (UVM) Health Network has now successfully restored access to the Epic electronic medical record system at all inpatient and ambulatory sites that currently use the system. This includes inpatient and ambulatory sites at UVM Medical Center and ambulatory clinics at Central Vermont Medical Center, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, and Porter Medical Center.
Ransomware is a type of malware from crypto-virology that threatens to publish the victim’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way which is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses a technique called crypto viral extortion, in which it encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt the data.
Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan that is disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment. However, one high-profile example, the “WannaCry worm“, travelled automatically between computers without user interaction. Topgallant Partners provides services to mitigate these attacks before it happens Click to find out more.
In an earlier press release on Tuesday that they were also able to restore the system to ambulatory sites at Central Vermont Medical Center this morning and we expect to bring Epic back online to ambulatory sites at Porter Medical Center tomorrow and at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital as quickly as possible this week. Bringing Epic back online means our staff will no longer need to manually log patient information, and medications, treatment, and clinical orders can be recorded electronically once again.
UVM was hit by a Ransomware Attack Earlier this month. According to Reports the FBI and the Vermont National Guard is involved.
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