Medical Devices Hit by Ransomware for the First Time in US Hospitals

Is it possible that North Korea used a stolen National Security Agency hacking tool to infect medical devices at U.S. hospitals? Turns out, in today's topsy-turvy world, it is. When the NSA cyber weapon-powered WannaCry ransomware spread across the world this past weekend, it infected as many as 200,000 Windows systems, including those at 48 hospital trusts in the U.K. and so-far unnamed medical facilities in the U.S. too. It wasn't just administrative PCs that were hacked, though. Medical devices themselves were affected too, Forbes has learned.

A source in the healthcare industry passed Forbes an image of an infected Bayer Medrad device in a U.S. hospital. The source did not say which specific hospital was affected, nor could they confirm what Bayer model was hacked. But it appears to be radiology equipment designed to help improve imaging. More specifically, it's a device used for monitoring what's known in the industry as a "power injector," which helps deliver a "contrast agent" to a patient. Such agents consist of chemicals that improve the quality of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

A Bayer spokesperson confirmed it had received two reports from customers in the U.S. with devices hit by the ransomware, but would not say which specific products were affected. "Operations at both sites were restored within 24 hours," the spokesperson added. "If a hospital's network is compromised, this may affect Bayer's Windows-based devices connected to that network." Bayer said it would be sending out a Microsoft patch for its Windows-based devices "soon." The firm recommended hospitals work with their IT security teams and contact Bayer's Technical Assistance Center "to ensure continued support of contrast-enhanced radiology procedures which use Bayer power injectors"...