Health CIO details ransomware recovery effort

SiliconAngle reports that major Virginia orthopedic care provider OrthoVirginia has been touted by its Chief Information Officer Terri Ripley to have been able to completely recover its systems 18 months after a Ryuk ransomware attack in February 2021 through a priorities-based approach. After the attack resulted in a system-wide shutdown as well as challenges in quickly restoring files from backups, OrthoVirginia sought to investigate the incident alongside the FBI while using a backup hosted service as a temporary main network, said Ripley during the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Inc.'s Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum. Such a significant disruption has also prompted OrthoVirginia to increase social media engagement and MyChart patient portal utilization, as well as communications with its board of directors. Ripley also added that staying calm, ensuring up-to-date insurance coverage and accessible funds, performing extensive record-keeping, and continuous stakeholder and media communications have been crucial in achieving ransomware recovery.