Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1115575
50 CIO / HEALTH IT IBM: Cybercriminals abandon ransomware for 'cryptojacking' By Jackie Drees A s more companies increase their cybersecurity mea- sures and awareness, cybercriminals have started al- tering their techniques to focus more on return on in- vestment, according to IBM's "2019 X-Force reat Intelligence Index" report. e report is based on observations from 70 billion security events that occurred per day between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2018, across more than 130 countries. Data is analyzed from multiple sources, including IBM Managed Security Services and X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services. Five things to know: 1. e report details two major shis among cybercriminals: a de- creased reliance on malware and a decline in ransomware attacks. 2. Cybercriminals have also increased "cryptojacking" attacks — the illegal use of an organization's or individual's computing power without their knowledge to mine cryptocurrencies. Cryp- tojacking nearly doubled the number of cyberattacks in 2018. "One of the hottest commodities is computing power tied to the emergence of cryptocurrencies," Wendi Whitmore, IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services global lead, said in a news release. "is has led to corporate networks and consumer devices being secretly highjacked to mine for these digital currencies." 3. roughout 2018, ransomware attempts declined. In the fourth quarter of 2018, attempts to install ransomware on X-Force monitored devices were down 55 percent with respect to the first quarter, while cryptojacking attacks rose 450 percent in the same time frame. 4. Targeted phishing campaigns accounted for 29 percent of cyberattacks in 2018. Of those phishing campaigns, business email compromise scams made up 45 percent of attacks. 5. In place of malware last year, cybercriminals leveraged com- mon administration applications to gain illegal profits and evade detection in 57 percent of cyberattacks. "If we look at the drop in the use of malware, the shi away from ransomware, and the rise of targeted campaigns, all these trends tell us that ROI is a real motivating factor for cybercriminals," Ms. Whitmore said. "We see that efforts to disrupt adversaries and make systems harder to infiltrate are working. While 11.7 billion records were leaked or stolen over the last three years, leveraging stolen personally identifiable information for profit requires more knowledge and resources, motivating attackers to explore new illicit profit models to increase their ROI." Report authors concluded that organizations can increase cy- bersecurity preparedness through preventive measures such as threat hunting and risk management models. n Robot-assisted surgery leaves new surgeons without crucial skills, study finds By Emily Rappleye R obotic surgery practices may be limiting the amount of prac- tice surgical trainees receive, leaving many new surgeons unprepared to perform surgery independently, according to research published in Administrative Science Quarterly. The findings are based on two studies conducted by Matthew Beane, PhD, project scientist from the University of California, Santa Barbara. The first was a two-year study comparing learn- ing in robotic and traditional surgical practices. These findings were combined with a blinded interview-based study conduct- ed at 13 teaching hospitals in the U.S. Dr. Beane found traditional open surgery training methods were effective in teaching trainees how to become surgeons. However, robotic surgery techniques limited opportunities for trainees to help during surgery and get supervised experience. As a result, trainees used what Dr. Beane called "shadow learn- ing" practices, which included premature specialization in ro- botic surgery without competence in general surgery, among others. These practices kept all but "a minority of surgical train- ees to come to competence." "Shadow learning practices were neither punished nor for- bidden, and they contributed to significant and troubling out- comes for the cadre of initiate surgeons and the profession, including hyperspecialization and a decreasing supply of ex- perts relative to demand," Dr. Beane wrote. n 7 blockchain companies to know in 2019 By Mackenzie Garrity H ealthcare leaders are all on different pages when it comes to blockchain. Nonetheless, tech companies continue to invest their efforts in blockchain. Here are seven top blockchain companies to know in 2019, according to digital media website Coindoo: 1. IBM 2. Intellectsoft Blockchain Lab 3. LeewayHertz 4. Innovecs 5. MLG Blockchain 6. Coinfabrik 7. Empirica Software n