February 27, 2026
I hate writing these posts. Not because I have any doubt about the importance of the information or that business owners and stake holders need continuous reminding how fragile their operating capability is. I hate writing these stories because this attack hurt people. Real humans. That sucks.
According to the article "the cyberattack took down many of its IT systems and blocked access to the Epic electronic medical records. While UMMC cancelled outpatient and ambulatory surgeries/procedures and imaging appointments, officials said hospital services continue via downtime procedures"
This is one of the dirtiest forms of cyber crime. These attacks impact quality of life for patients, staff, family members, support organizations, vendors, the community at large.....this attack touched so many people its staggering.
We do not often stop and discuss this ugly side of the breach because as technical practitioners we are largely focused (understandably) on the response plan, on returning to normal operations etc... We are neck deep in restorations and sanitization, audits and inspections. We often forget the real victims are the people. That sounds silly but its very true.
It is so easy in a simple (I know it's not simple) identity theft case to understand this impacted a real person. It is singular and tactile. Easy to grasp and empathize with the victim. In larger, splash damage style breaches we tend to consider the organization as an emotionless blob, but it isn't.
Therefore, in keeping with my theme for some of the post recently I wanted to take this opportunity to remind business owners and stake holders that your responsibility to protect the entity is not just for you, it is for your employees, your clients, your vendors, and the community you are a part of. Your responsibility is real, deep and somewhat uncomfortable, but it is yours regardless. Make sure you take it seriously.
#HardentheTarget #CyberSecurity #CyberCrime #StayVigilant #ransomware #ai #stillhuman
