There are nine types of malware frequently delivered to healthcare organizations, according to a Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange report.
The report, titled The Rampant Growth of Cybercrime in Healthcare, gives an overview of common vulnerabilities healthcare organizations face and summarizes topics discussed at cybersecurity roundtables in 2015 and 2016.
Here are the nine types of malware delivered to healthcare organizations.
1. Virus. This contagious malware spreads by infecting software. Once this software is opened, the virus copies itself.
2. Worm. Another type of contagious malware, a worm will infect software and copy itself without the need for user action.
3. Trojan. This masked malware conceals itself as a legitimate software, but reveals itself as harmful upon installation.
4. Rootkit. This is another type of masked malware. Although it doesn't cause any damage itself, it helps conceal malware from antivirus detection.
5. Keystroke logger. This malware takes the form of a program or hardware that monitors and records a user's key strokes. This masked malware is often used to steal passwords.
6. RAM scraping. This masked malware steals credit and debit card data during transactions on point-of-sale machines.
7. Adware. This malware takes the form of embedded script or code, which automatically displays or downloads damaging software.
8. Rogue security software. This software tells users they already have a virus in their system, and encourages them to install Trojan or ransomware disguised as a removal tool.
9. Ransomware. This malware encrypts files or prevents users from accessing a system until they pay a ransom.
Click here to view the full report.