Letter: Close call at HHMH

Re: Hospital law enforcement thwart ransom ware attempt, Free Lance, March 14, 2025

That was a close call! Not when the cat resting under the car wheel dashed off warned by the starter grind when the key turned. It was not then. Not when the tennis ball at a Wimbledon Match kissed the line at a Grand Slam event. It was not then. Not when the football player’s knees missed the ground until the ball crossed the goal line. It was not then either. 

It was in the Free Lance reporting: “Hospital law enforcement thwart ransom ware attempt.” That was the close call!

This seemed a close call because a person doing their job might follow habitual procedures and thus misinterpret a certain response only slightly out of the ordinary.

For instance the email might look familiar as from a bank offering new information. Once a masquerading email is answered it is like swallowing bait. The line is yanked securing the hook to extract the kill. 

The kill would be the passwords to enter targeted computers to extract protected information. Another word for these thieves is malware and infecting viruses. I am enormously thankful that the hospital had systems in place to thwart breaches to keep information secure and did not pay the demanded ransom.

This close call makes me wonder about the next close call and whether it might succeed under a new guise. AI could be used to help another approach succeed. AI has no moral code. 

Now I am grateful that Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital management had a system in place where security protocols had to be followed to thwart any malware infection.

Although the hospital worked with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, hospital staff determined this attempt was a fake however no culprit was found. Breathing could be easier but attempts could re-occur and discerning whether or not they are hoaxes is a challenge. Third party security systems will be an answer to that threat. 

More importantly is the question: What happens when the hospital is sold and all the personal protected information resides in an outsider’s hands? Will proper care protect this sensitive information? 

Local control does have a moral code and would never sell the hospital. The only answer is: Never sell our hospital!

Mary Zanger

Hollister