Cybersecurity Hygiene Should Be Priority for Dentists Following ADA Attack

On Friday, April 22nd, the American Dental Association (ADA) was hit by a cyberattack, forcing its system offline. If one were to try and access the ADA site last week, they would have been met with a message telling them that "The ADA is experiencing technical difficulties" but with no further information; however, ADA members reportedly had been receiving emails telling them about a cyber attack which hit the association affecting ADA email, phone systems, and online chat features.

The ADA has not been very vocal about what type of attack this is, however, Bleeping Computer states that Black Basta, a new ransomware gang, has taken on responsibility for the attack on the ADA. They've even gone so far as to leak the data to prove that it was in fact a ransowmare breach. Black Basta leaked 2.8 GB of data on this leak site and claims that this is a mere 30% of the total stolen data. Data includes W2s, NSAs, and accounting information, among others.

As many companies will do in the case of a ransomware attack, the ADA reported this attack to law enforcement and are working with third-party cybersecurity professionals to get to the bottom of this issue. This national association was not the only entity impacted by the attack, as the Dental Associations of Virginia and Florida also reported similar technical issues.

This is the largest dentistry entity in the nation and they are struggling to respond to this attack. There are plenty of small, locally-owned and operated practices that do not have the time or money to dedicate to such an attack as the ADA. Not only do they not have the time and money to dedicate to a cyber attack, but many do not have strong cybersecurity in place for the same reason - lack of time, money, and staff to assist with such things.

This is a case of "choose your hard" - you may have likely seen on social media one of those sentimental images that goes something like "Marriage is hard, Divorce is hard - Choose your hard." The same applies to the case of small dentists offices and cybersecurity - paying for and keeping up with cybersecurity costs money, reacting to a cyber attack costs (a lot of) money, choose which one you want, choose your hard. The best thing to do is to find a way to budget for preventative measures because the cost of responding to a cyber attack is not only much more in terms of money, but also quite damaging in terms of your local reputation for protecting customer data.

Enact strong password hygiene for all employees in order to have a strong, free base for cybersecurity. Have each employee use a unique, strong password for each login needed. Additionally, teach your employees about cybersecurity and give them refresher trainings often. Employees who are cyber aware can be the biggest asset in your cybersecurity arsenal! On the flip side, employees who are not educated on cyber threats can be your biggest vulnerability. Utilize a strong network security system in order to help filter in good traffic and catch bad traffic trying to access your site. If your budget allows for it, consult with a local cybersecurity professional, look at reviews of their service, and see about outsourcing this aspect of your business to them.

Image by kjpargeter for Freepik.