High and Dry: Tackling Global Water Stress
WATCH

Attacked by ransomware: The hospital network brought to a standstill by cybercriminals

Attacked by ransomware: The hospital network brought to a standstill by cybercriminals

In October 2022, the second-largest nonprofit healthcare system in the US, CommonSpirit Health, was hit with a crippling ransomware attack. Kelsay Irby works as an ER nurse at a CommonSpirit hospital in Washington. She arrived at work after the malware had spread through the hospital network to chaos: systems were down, computers were running slowly or not at all, labs weren’t returning results, and nurses were charting vitals on pen and paper. Even basic things like knowing what medications patients were on or why they came into the emergency room were a challenge, putting lives at risk. The hospital’s nurses and doctors scrambled to manage this crisis for over two weeks until CommonSpirit Health was able to restore access to the IT network

“It was just kind of this perfect storm of very sick patients, not enough help, everybody was super frustrated,” Irby says, “My biggest fear during the whole cyberattack was that a patient was going to suffer because we couldn’t access the technology.”


GZERO spoke with Irby about her experience during the ransomware attack, as well as cybersecurity expert Mora Durante Astrada from Zurich Insurance Group for the final episode of “Caught in the Digital Crosshairs: The Human Impact of Cyberattacks,” a new video series on cybersecurity produced by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft and the CyberPeace Institute. Astrada volunteers for the Institute and its CyberPeace Builders Program, which provides free cybersecurity assistance, threat detection, and analysis to NGOs and other critical sectors while advocating for safety and security in cyberspace.

More from Global Stage

How are emerging technologies helping to shape democracy?

How are emerging technologies helping to shape democracy?

In what’s looking like a rag race, power players in democracy wield technology for both good and bad. In GZERO's Global Stage livestream at the 2023 Paris Peace Forum, journalist Julien Pain asks leaders from politics, the private sector, and journalism how emerging tech like AI can be used as a safeguard for democracy, not a threat.

Global Stage Podcast | Patching the System | Can governments protect us from dangerous software bugs?

Podcast: Can governments protect us from dangerous software bugs?

We've probably all felt the slight annoyance at prompts we receive to update our devices. But these updates deliver vital patches to our software, protecting us from bad actors. Governments around the world are increasingly interested in monitoring when dangerous bugs are discovered as a means to protect citizens. But would such regulation have the intended effect?

AI at the tipping point: danger to information, promise for creativity

AI at the tipping point: danger to information, promise for creativity

Artificial intelligence is on everyone's mind these days. The potential for AI to mess up democracy is scary, but the truth is that it can also make the world a better place. So, are bots good or bad for us? We asked a few experts to weigh in during the Global Stage livestream conversation "Risks and Rewards of AI," hosted by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft at this year's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Paris 2024 Olympics chief: “We are ready”

Paris 2024 Olympics chief: “We are ready”

Eight months ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tony Estanguet says Paris plans to offer “a fantastic moment of celebration.”

Global Stage Podcast | Patching the System | Would the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty hurt more than it helps?

Podcast: Would the proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty hurt more than it helps?

As the world of cybercrime continues to expand, it is only ideal that more international legal standards should follow. But while many governments around the globe see a need for a cybercrime treaty to set a standard, a current proposal on the table at the United Nations is raising concerns among private companies and nonprofit organizations alike.

How cyberattacks hurt people in war zones

How cyberattacks hurt people in war zones

They may not be bombs or tanks, but hacks and cyberattacks can still make life miserable for people caught in the crosshairs of conflicts miserable, said Stéphane Duguin, CEO of the Cyber Peace Institute.

Digital Equity