BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG – The Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center and Carthage Area Hospital CEO says no ransom will be paid to hackers threatening to release sensitive data stolen in a recent cyber attack.

In an interview Friday, Richard Duvall told North Country This Week that while data was accessed by hackers Aug. 31, it’s unclear what data they were able to access and if they were able to view any data they did obtain as it was encrypted.

Duvall said the criminals were not able to lock down computers at the medical centers because the IT Department noticed an anomaly and worked quickly to block access.

“The criminals did deploy the bug needed to lockdown our software, but we were able to block their access before it could be activated,” he said.

Duvall said legal action is being taken to identify what data was stolen, but at this time it’s unclear what the hackers were able to obtain and if they were able to get past the encryptions.

Duvall said there is no plan to pay a requested ransom for several reasons. He said paying the ransom wouldn’t guarantee the criminals wouldn’t sell the data anyway and at this time it’s not even clear what data they actually have.

He said the criminals have made threats, but have failed to prove they’ve obtained any significant data from the hospitals.

Duvall says Claxton-Hepburn and Carthage are working closely with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and New York state Department of Health.

He said they have been working to scrub more than 1,500 computers to ensure there is no lingering threat.

Once the hospital is able to determine exactly what data was accessed, employees or patients impacted will be notified.

Duvall said steps will be taken by the hospital to assist anyone who is affected, but that won’t be known until a subpoena to the company securing the data is answered.

On a more positive note, Duvall says the bulk of software restoration should be finished next week, with some outlying outpatient clinics potentially taking slightly longer.

Duvall said FBI officials believe quick action from IT employees at the medical centers played a major role in limiting the potential damage and kept the hackers from locking down computers at both hospitals.

Duvall said that the incident has renewed the urgency to ensure the latest software is being used to protect data, but added that the reality is that as soon as software hits the shelves it’s already outdated.

Duvall says the criminals are believed to be part of a massive cyber crime organization that operates globally.

He said FBI agents are hopeful that the arrests could stem from the attacks, but noted that because they operate outside of the country, prosecutions can be difficult.

Duvall said that crimes like this that target hospitals are crimes against the community.

He offered appreciation to patients who have been inconvenienced in the wake of the attack. He noted that prescriptions for instance had to be delivered by hand for a while, but expected things to return to normal soon.

He also offered appreciation to employees who have had to come up with ways to work around the computer shutdowns and the IT team that’s been working around the clock to keep operations running.