AHL 34 April 2026 | Page 12

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Trustworthy cyber reco

Ransomware cripples healthcare systems, quickly exposing backup weaknesses, compliance delays, and patient safety risks

As cyberattacks become more frequent, healthcare organisations have invested heavily in backup infrastructure and disaster recovery planning. On paper, these safeguards look strong. If systems are encrypted, a facility expects to restore from its backup and get back to business. However, real-world incidents show that recovery rarely goes as smoothly or as quickly as leaders hope.

Modern ransomware is built to stick around. Attackers often gain access to systems weeks or months before launching an encryption attack. During that time, they map networks, locate backups, and tamper with recovery points. When systems finally go offline, IT teams face a tough question: which restore point can actually be trusted, if any?
Instead of restoring right away, teams need to investigate what happened and how attackers got in. They analyze snapshots for signs of compromise. With large healthcare databases containing millions of records and complex workflows, just validating the data can take days or weeks. Even after restoration, legal reviews, insurer coordination, regulatory notifications, and internal approvals often stretch the path to full operational recovery.
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