'These are all 'hygienes' of cybersecurity,' she says.īut whether the province of Nova Scotia is taking extra precautions - the minister in charge won't say - because hackers might be listening. 'Knowing that some attack can happen, how can we actually recover from these quickly? What are the policies we have or systems that we set up for backup?' 'Coming up with recovery plans,' is what she says needs to happen. 'Call me pessimistic, but stopping any attack, including ransomware, is unrealistic,' says Zincir-Heywood. 'Critical infrastructures, health systems, they become even bigger targets, because they are dealing with all the other issues,' says Dalhousie University computer science professor Nur Zincir-Heywood. Those in the field of cybersecurity say health care is particularly vulnerable, with so much sensitive patient information and crucial systems.Īttacks have increased during the pandemic when attention is focused elsewhere. 'The criminal organization may have downloaded all that health data and they could still hold that hostage to try to get the ransom money,' he says. While Newfoundland and Labrador's health minister won't say if the attack was ransomware, Crouch says if ransom wasn't demanded now, it might be later.

'This has all the hallmarks of organized crime,' says digital anthropologist Giles Crouch. Its largest health authority had to revert to pen and paper for record-keeping. The attack affected critical digital health systems, forcing the province to halt thousands of non-emergency procedures and appointments this week. It's been a cyber-nightmare for Newfoundland and Labrador as the provincial government scrambles to recover from a cyberattack.

Pen and paper image