Following a ransomware strike that crippled its whole business, Medatixx, a German medical software provider whose products are employed in over 21,000 health institutions, advises clients to update their application passwords.
The company’s website is currently displaying a notice about the cyberattack, here is our quick translation from German:
“In the middle of last week we were the target of a cyber attack in which important parts of our internal IT system were encrypted. As a result, our accessibility as well as the entire company operations are currently severely impaired. To protect our customers, employees and partners, we work together with IT security specialists to take all necessary steps to counter the attack with targeted measures and to eliminate its effects…”
The business stressed that clients’ impact has not been felt and is restricted to their internal IT systems, not their PVS (practice management systems).
Threat actors may have obtained Medatixx users’ credentials, as it is uncertain what data was taken during the attack. As a result, Medatixx advises clients to take the following precautions to ensure that their practice management software stays secure:
- Change the user passwords on practice software (instructions).
- Change the Windows login passwords on all workstations and servers (instructions).
- Change the TI connector passwords (instructions).
The business mentioned above are preventative steps, but they should be implemented as soon as feasible.
The following are the software packages whose users should respond to this emergency:
- easymed
- x.comfort
- medatixx
- x.isynet
- x.concept
- x.vianova
The ransomware strike on Mediatixx occurred last week, and the firm is still recovering, with just e-mail and central telephone services restored so far.
Additionally, all regional sales partners and customer support lines are operational, allowing clients to contact corporate staff with any questions they may have.
There isn’t an estimate of when the business will resume normal operations. Moreover, it is unknown whether the perpetrators could obtain any customer, doctor, or patient information.
However, the firm claims that it has alerted Germany’s data protection authorities about the occurrence and will provide an update after the inquiry is completed.
As per Heise Online, Mediatixx technologies are used in around 25% of all medical institutions in Germany, which might be the country’s largest hack ever. Furthermore, according to the German news agency, the perpetrators may steal user credentials through remote maintenance systems.
This incident occurs at the most inopportune time since Germany is coping with an all-time high number of COVID-19 cases.
The epidemic is already putting a burden on hospitals across the country, so losing access to critical support software tools or having to do system-wide resets was the last thing they needed.
