Hacker attack on ASL Napoli 3 Sud: what happened

The local health company (ASL) of Naples 3 South suffered a hacker attack, capable of paralyzing the system and blocking the booking of vaccines. Both in the face of a new attack on the health system and, from initial analyzes, it seems that it is once again a ransomware.

Hacker attack on ASL Napoli 3 Sud, here’s what happened

The year just ended has marked a clear trend: hackers are increasingly aiming to exploit ransomware. And it looks like this early 2022 confirms this tactic. As he explains MarianaPereira, Director of Email Security Products at Darktrace: “Even among our customers in Italy, we have seen an exponential growth in ransomware attacks. In particular against hospitals, research organizations, academic institutions and even state bodies working on COVID tracking technology ”.

According to the Darktrace expert, in particular “In Italy, and in the world, we have seen in particular an increase in attacks on supply chain which could explain the domino effect we are witnessing now in Italy “.

Darktrace’s analysis highlights how hospitals and health services such as ASLs are interesting targets. Especially during the pandemic, when their system-blocking attacks can be particularly damaging. And maybe get them to pay the ransom in Bitcoin to unlock the ransomware (although this does not appear to be the case in Naples).

Pereira also explains that “Too many hospitals in Italy do not have staff to devote full time to IT security, also due to a global skills shortage In this compound”. While there have been important advances in privacy and data protection, security has not yet become a priority.

The establishment of the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) is a good first step. But as the analyst explains, more is needed. “When it comes to healthcare, we not only choose to entrust the most complex cases to the best doctors and surgeons, but we must also work to equip them with cutting-edge technologies. The same philosophy must apply to IT security “.

As for ransomware, Cyber ​​Security Wizard by artificial intelligence it can help detect suspicious behavior and respond immediately. You can learn more about this on the Darktrace website.