Hospital Paid $17K Ransom to Hackers

The CEO of a Los Angeles hospital said he paid $17,000 in bitcoins to computer hackers who used malware to lock the facility’s computer network. Allen Stefanek, CEO of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, said paying the ransom was the quickest way to get the hospital’s system running again. The hospital first noticed problems with the system on Feb. 5 and the network was fully resstored by Feb. 10. The hackers initially demanded $3.4 million, but later accepted a lower fee. Stefanek said patient care was not affected and there has been no evidence that patients’ information has been compromised.