Most Current Malware Threats For NMC Health Company

Introduction

NMC Health is a company that was founded in the United Arab Emirates that is involved in a wide range of different types of healthcare. This includes areas such as Orthopedic care, Heart Care, Oncology, and Dentistry. This company was founded in 1974 and since then has gone on to achieve many things like being the first company from the UAE to make to the stock exchange in London, opening over 180 healthcare facilities, which includes hospitals and pharmacies, with around 20,000 staff employed and helped approximately 8 million patients in the UAE and Europe. Being a company that is involved in the healthcare industry, confidentiality is essential especially when it comes to their patient's information.

Healthcare companies are constantly being targeted by ransomware and if their patient's information is compromised and stolen this could cause a huge problem for the company. An example of these attacks is the NHS in 2017 that was attacked by the ransomware Wannacry. This caused thousands of appointments to be canceled which is not good for the NHS and if this was to happen to NMC Health it was a disaster. This is why security is a major concern for CEO Prasanth Manghat and his company. If NMC Health was to have a security breach of patients' details, it would have a negative effect on its stock value (as of the 21st of September 2018 is 3668.16 euro) and its credibility in their patients and potential patients eyes.

Most current malware threats

There will always new malware being created and it’s like a constant war between creators of the malware and anti-virus/anti-malware companies such as McAfee, AVG, Panda, and MalwareBytes. It is very important for companies and everyday users alike to be up to date with all the different types of malicious programs. Luckily there are plenty of websites that you can check out to learn about the most recent malware.

Malware Threats To The Company

Defray

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is high. If their systems were to fall victim to ransomware all their patient information would be lost and that could cause a major problem for NMC Health. What type of threat it is: This threat is a type of ransomware that has been targeting health care companies and is a security threat to NMC Health. How it works: This malware encrypts the victim's data and then it tells you how much you have to pay to get the data decrypted. How you can remove it: Unfortunately the only way to get rid of this malware is to pay the amount of money demanded from the hackers.

Wannacry

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is high.NMC Health should be careful in case they are targeted by hackers using wanna cry as being denied access to their information could be problematic for them. How it works: This was used to infect thousands of computers in hospitals and prevented them from accessing their data. What type of threat it is: This threat is another type of ransomware that has been used to attack hospitals and other healthcare institutes. How you can remove it: Once again the only way to remove this malware is to pay the hacker the money they want.

Worms

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is high. How it works: A worm is a program that replicates itself in order to spread from computer to computer infecting them all. What type of threat is it: This threat is like a virus but is different in the way it spreads to other computers. It is a form of malware. How can you remove it: The best way to remove a worm from your computer system is by using either a worm remover tool or certain antivirus software that will be able to detect the worm.

Trojan

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is moderate. How it works: Trojan hides as software that looks to be safe and once it is installed it starts to harm the computer. What type of threat is it: This is another type of malware that can cause damage to your system. How can you remove it: You can remove the trojan virus by identifying the trojan program, restarting your computer in safe mode, and then removing the program that the trojan had disguised itself as.

Lack of funding

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is high. How it works: If healthcare companies like NMC Health didn't have enough funding then they will either not have the money for computer security or will neglect internet security to help pay for a different area in need of money. What type of threat is it: This a threat that is out of the control of the company itself. How to remove it: You can’t remove the threat of not having enough funding but the company could weigh up to pros and cons of investing in computer security and decide if they want to spend the money there or in a different area.

Lack of training

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is high. How it works: The employees may not be educated in network security and this could lead to them opening a link in an email in which a virus or malware could get into the computer’s system. What type of threat is it: This type of threat is a very important one as that if the employees don't know that they are doing anything wrong it could end up being a disaster for the company. How to remove it: The only way to remove this threat is by providing the employees with training on the internet safety and then this will decrease the amount of time this happens.

DDOS

The risk to NMC Health: The risk is low. How it works: The attacker will send packets of information to the network to point of it overwhelming the network causing it to slow down or stop working. What type of threat is it: This type of threat is a denial of service used to slow down or halt companies work. How can you remove it: The company could look into a DDOS mitigation service to help reduce the probability of a DDOS attack.8. Phishing: The risk to NMC Health: The risk is moderate. All companies are at risk of phishing emails including NMC Health. How it works: Phishing emails deceive the user into clicking on the link in the email and by doing so this grants the malware access to the user's computer or the companies database. What type of threat is it: This threat is a type of spam that is used in every industry. How can you remove it: NMC Health could remove the threat of phishing is by either training their staff not to open any random link in an email or by installing a spam filter to their systems to prevent the phishing emails getting through.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malware that is on the rise as of recent years due to it being so lucrative for cyber-attackers. Ransomware uses many different ways to gain access to your computer, it uses spam email or phishing spam the most to gain access. This phishing email will trick the user into clicking on the link by disguising themselves as someone they trust like their bank or a government company and by doing this it allows the ransomware to get into your computer and encrypt your files. Once your files are encrypted you will need a code that is only known by the cyber-attacker themself and the only way to get your files back is to pay the sum of money demanded by the attacker which is usually a couple of hundred euro, hence the name Ransomware. The method of payment that the attackers use is the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin. You can remove the malware itself but you cannot decrypt your files without the code from the attacker. It is predicted that in 2019 the total amount of money that ransomware will make will be 11.5 billion dollars. Lately, the number of hackers using ransomware has decreased but the hackers that are still using it are very good at doing so, it seems that the more skilled hackers are the ones left using ransomware.

Different types of Ransomware

Wannacry. This ransomware is one of the most famous types of ransomware that made headlines when it was used to infect thousands of computers in the NHS in 2017. Wannacry itself has made over 50,000 dollars from infecting 200,000 computers.

Spider. This ransomware spreads through emails and sends you a word document that when opened it runs a program and it encrypts your files. This ransomware gives you only 96 hours to pay which is very short.

Jigsaw. This ransomware will display a message saying that your files have been encrypted but that they are not gone yet after the malware gets on your computer. It will delete files every hour for 72 hours and after 72 hours all your files are gone.

Bibliography:

1. NMC Healthcare : http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302661656
2. Wannacry : http://geeko.lesoir.be/2017/10/30/wannacry-la-coree-du-nord-serait-lauteur-de-lattaque/
3. Spider : https://blog.barkly.com/file-spider-ransomware
4. Malware : https://www.milesweb.com/blog/website-security/malware-7-tips-protect-website-malware/
5. CIS pie chart : https://www.cisecurity.org/blog/top-10-malware-august-2018/
6. Ransomware : https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/ransomware-recovery-dont-make-matters-worse-a-11464
7. Types of ransomware: https://www.datto.com/blog/common-types-of-ransomware
8. Threat level indicator: https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/malware-classifications
9. NMC Health website: https://nmc.ae/
10. Past ransomware attacks: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022
11. Top recent malware:https://www.lifewire.com/top-malware-threats-153641
12. DDOS information:https://www.cisecurity.org/blog/ddos-attacks-in-the-healthcare-sector/