The growing frequency of digital hacks is causing problems for Florida’s agencies, hospitals, and businesses.
Researchers at the University of Maryland found that someone is likely to be the victim of a cybercrime, or data breach, every 39 seconds. So far this year, the Sunshine State has documented 19 cyber-attacks, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Many more attacks are unreported. And while that 19 number is low, it impacted over 156,000 Floridians.
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“I've spent years looking into not just the technical aspects of how we run into problems, but also the training and education that needs to take place to help, try to prevent them.” said Elizabeth Rasnick, Ph.D., a Professor at the Center for Cyber Security at the University of West Florida.
Rasnick told WFSU on Monday that cyberthieves are often after personal data or sensitive business information such as social security numbers, trade secrets, and financial records.
“It all boils down to bad actors are after sensitive data that they can use for any number of bad purposes."
The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) recently fell victim to a similar attack. Reports of hackers accessing the state’s Vital Statistics System, which holds birth and death certificates, emerged July 1. The group, RansomHub, gave FDOH a few days to pay an unspecified amount of money or else, it would release the data on the dark web.
Causing headaches for many different industries
A FDOH spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that the hacked system caused a temporary outage and funeral homes are having to resort to delivering death certificates by mail or picking up in-person.
“We are working around the clock to restore the online Vital Statistics system. The majority of Department operations and services remain operational and unchanged.”State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo
Thomas Griffin Jr. works at Strong & Jones Funeral Home in Tallahassee. He told WFSU in an interview that families are having a difficult time burying their loved ones.
“As of right now, anybody who pass away, we’re not able to type up any new death certificates," said Griffin.
The Florida Department of Health must submit the death certificate of a deceased person, while a funeral director files it before any cremation or burial service can take place. Griffin said this process has been delayed since June 26.
“We can’t accommodate the families at this time period as far as what they need done to accomplish insurance policies and things of that nature," said Griffin. "A lot of stuff you can’t get done without a certified copy of the death certificate.”
Funeral directors aren’t the only ones feeling the effects
In June, thousands of car dealers across the country suffered slow sales after CDK Global, an automotive software provider, was hit by ransomware. Dealers were unable to receive calls or send out texts to clients online.
“A lot of it was just grind work—meeting customers that came inside the store, working the service drive a bit more than we normally would. We don’t have anyone else to talk to because we don’t know whose even shopping for a car," said Trey Purvis, a Tallahassee car sales manager.
Even Florida’sJuvenile Justice Department failed to secure its information from hackers. The agency was hacked in March. Around the same time, the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, had a data breach. Cities and county governments have also become targets.
How to prevent thieves from stealing your data?
Matt Aubin, a Digital Forensics Examiner in Tampa, believes every company or government agency should have some type of cybersecurity software in place so that their data is better protected against thieves. He said most people ignore this step and have their data saved in a place that’s easily accessible to ransomware hackers.
"The key is education, early detection, and response," explained Aubin. "It doesn’t matter if we hunt them down or not, you’re still not getting your data back unless you pay them. Unless you do things right from the beginning.”
Florida law prohibits state and local governments from paying ransom for cyberattacks. Plus, not all cyber criminals keep their promises when paid. So, Florida agencies will need to come up with a plan to get their stolen data back.