Righto, let’s have a bit of a chinwag, shall we? Our natter today? Cybersecurity and healthcare. Do sit comfortably and grab a cuppa because this one is as thrilling as your favourite mystery novel – it’s got villains, victims, heroes, and a touch of the law.
So, picture this. A group known as the LockBit gang – notorious in the tech world for their cyber mischief, launched an attack on a New York hospital alliance, North Star Health Alliance, back in August. Now, these lot didn’t test the fire alarms or play pranks on the PA system – none of that… They nabbed patient data.
Suddenly, it wasn’t just blood pressure or cholesterol levels on the line. Everyone’s wondering – will my neighbour find out about my bout with haemorrhoids? Will my boss learn about my bi-weekly therapy appointments? It was a bit of a kerfuffle, to put it mildly.
In response, North Star didn’t just roll over and say “Well, that’s unfortunate”. No, they went on the offensive. In November, they popped round to the courts and slapped LockBit with a lawsuit. A part of you has to admire their pluck, their gumption. This wasn’t just to give the proverbial two fingers to LockBit, but it was a practical move too. They needed to get that patient data back, and sometimes legal strong-arming is the best way to do that.
Now, here’s the sticky wicket. That stolen patient data had been squirrelled away, not in some obscure corner of the Dark Web, but on the servers of a cloud services firm over in Massachusetts. You know what they say about truth being stranger than fiction!
Now, Paulette, pass me that biscuit – here comes the twist. The cloud services firm, Wasabi Technologies, didn’t act the villain as it were, quite the opposite, in fact. They were quite the allies. Before North Star could even don their wigs and gavels, Wasabi had handed over copies of the purloined data to the FBI.
Honestly, it’s got a Hollywood ring to it, doesn’t it? A dramatic courtroom show-down averted at the eleventh hour, all thanks to Wasabi Technologies playing the proverbial white knight. And to think, all in the name of cybersecurity and healthcare. You’ve got to admit, that’s a bit of alright.
It just goes to show you, in this wild world of tech, you’ve got your villains and you’ve got your heroes. And sometimes, the heroes wear server stacks, not capes. So, while we sit pondering over our sleep routines, our food habits, our GP appointments, remember there’s a whole other battle being fought in the backdrop – the battle against cybercrime.
Isn’t it heartening to know that there are knowledgeable folks out there, like North Star and Wasabi, looking out for our data? Alright, that’s enough chinwagging for today. So until the next thrilling cyber tale, keep those firewalls up, get those antivirus softwares updated, and take care of yourselves.
by Parker Bytes
