Wood Ranch Medical has announced it will be permanently closing its doors as a direct result of a ransomware attack. The devastating attack occurred at Wood Ranch Medical in Simi Valley, CA, which recently announced that the practice will permanently close on December 17, 2019. It is another example of how cyber attacks and specifically Ransomware can bring a business to its knees.

The ransomware attack encrypted the computer systems at Brookside ENT and Hearing Center in Battle Creek which housed patient records, appointment schedules, and payment information rendering the data inaccessible. A ransomware attack can prove costly to resolve. That cost was not deemed worth it by one Michigan practice, which has now permanently closed its doors.

So what is Ransomware? Ransomware is a type of malicious program/application that gains access to your files or systems and blocks user access to those files or systems. Then, all files, or even entire devices, are held hostage using encryption until the victim pays a ransom in exchange for a decryption key. The key allows the user to access the files or systems encrypted by the program.

The potential harm of a malicious URL is so great that they are considered one of the biggest threats to the digital world, especially when we talk about attacks and threats that arrive by email.

Considering we now spend more and more time online, it’s only natural that we’ve digitised almost every aspect of our daily lives. But in doing so, we may have opened ourselves up to a new and dangerous form of attack. Ever since we began using the internet, we have faced the risk of malicious activity. Fortunately, we’ve developed powerful tools to combat cyber-attacks and advanced email security services.