Security News > 2021 > October > A Death Due to Ransomware

The Wall Street Journal is reporting on a baby's death at an Alabama hospital in 2019, which they argue was a direct result of the ransomware attack the hospital was undergoing.

Amid the hack, fewer eyes were on the heart monitors - normally tracked on a large screen at the nurses' station, in addition to inside the delivery room.

Attending obstetrician Katelyn Parnell texted the nurse manager that she would have delivered the baby by caesarean section had she seen the monitor readout.

The mother] Ms. Kidd has sued Springhill , alleging information about the baby's condition never made it to Dr. Parnell because the hack wiped away the extra layer of scrutiny the heart rate monitor would have received at the nurses' station.

If proven in court, the case will mark the first confirmed death from a ransomware attack.

What will be interesting to see is whether the courts rule that the hospital was negligent in its security, contributing to the success of the ransomware and by extension the death of the infant.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/10/a-death-due-to-ransomware.html