HHS issues update on ransomware attack

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday issued an update on the new and evolving cyberattack using a variant of ransomware, which has hit businesses worldwide with particular impacts in transportation and health care. According to press reports, Nuance Communications, a provider of voice and language solutions including transcription services, is among those impacted in the health care sector. Nuance has taken measures to contain the incident, including temporarily taking certain customer-facing solutions offline. HHS advises organizations to be vigilant and follow general cyber hygiene practices, such as ensuring that all system patches and anti-virus definitions are up to date and educating users on common phishing tactics. AHA is closely monitoring the situation and will update members as more information becomes available. For the latest information on the ransomware attack, visit http://www.aha.org/cybersecurity.