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Send Us The Bitcoin Or Patients Will Die: Addressing The Risks Of Ransomware Attacks On Hospitals, Deborah R. Farringer

Law Faculty Scholarship

“You just have 10 days to send us the Bitcoin. After 10 days we will remove your private key and it's impossible to recover your files.” Message to Medstar employees. Within a span of just a few months in the spring of 2016, fourteen hospitals (four hospital systems) experienced ransomware attacks resulting in an inability for the hospitals to access any of their electronic medical records, including necessary patient data. Knowing that hospitals must have access to this data in order to appropriately treat and monitor patients, those responsible for the attacks requested a bitcoin payment as ransom for the …