According to a new EMSISOFT report, in 2019, the U.S. was hit by an unprecedented and unrelenting barrage of ransomware that impacted 113 state and municipal governments and agencies, 764 healthcare providers, 89 universities, colleges and school districts, with operations at up to 1,233 individual schools potentially affected.
The incidents were not simply expensive inconveniences; the disruption they caused put people’s health, safety and lives at risk.
Emergency patients had to be redirected to other hospitals. Medical records were inaccessible and, in some cases, permanently lost. Surgical procedures were canceled, tests were postponed and admissions halted.
911 services were interrupted. Dispatch centres had to rely on printed maps and paper logs to keep track of emergency responders in the field. Police were locked out of background check systems and unable to access details about criminal histories or active warrants. Surveillance systems went offline.
The overall cost is estimated to be more than $7.5 Billion!
You can find the full report here: https://blog.emsisoft.com/en/34822/the-state-of-ransomware-in-the-us-report-and-statistics-2019/