• Blog
  • Services
    • PHIshMD Ongoing Training
    • HIPAA Compliance
    • Discover Vulnerabilities to Patient PHI
  • Store
    • HIPAA Secure Now Service Store
  • Contact Us
    • Sales Inquiry
    • Customer Support
  • Resources
    • Free Healthcare Security Check Up Quiz
    • HIPAA Compliance Requirements | A Guide
    • Webinars & Downloadable Content
    • Use our free Breach Cost Calculator
    • HIPAA Secured Seal
    • In-Email Training & Analysis | Catch Phish

Call us at: 877-275-4545

Client or Partner? Login here
HIPAA Secure Now!HIPAA Secure Now!
  • Blog
  • Services
    • PHIshMD Ongoing Training
    • HIPAA Compliance
    • Discover Vulnerabilities to Patient PHI
  • Store
    • HIPAA Secure Now Service Store
  • Contact Us
    • Sales Inquiry
    • Customer Support
  • Resources
    • Free Healthcare Security Check Up Quiz
    • HIPAA Compliance Requirements | A Guide
    • Webinars & Downloadable Content
    • Use our free Breach Cost Calculator
    • HIPAA Secured Seal
    • In-Email Training & Analysis | Catch Phish

Article – FBI: Attackers Targeting Anonymous FTP Servers in Healthcare

March 29, 2017 Posted by Art Gross HIPAA No Comments

A warning issued by the FBI cautions healthcare providers to beware of threat actors, who are now targeting anonymous File Transfer Protocol Servers (FTP), associated with both medical and dental organizations. An article on Dark Reading goes into great detail about the trouble with anonymous FTP servers and why it is important to turn yours off.

These cybercriminals have one goal in mind when targeting these FTP servers; access protected health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII).

The anonymous FTP extension lets users authenticate to the server with a common username and no password, or a generic password or email address.”

Since FTP servers are easily accessible allowing virtually anyone to connect and look through files, SANS Institute director John Pescatore says that it has been “standard guidance” for organizations to avoid storing sensitive data on FTP servers.

Pescatore urges organizations not to store anything besides public information on FTP servers, acknowledging that many companies ignore this advice since these servers allow for “an easy way to make information available to third parties.”

The FBI has explained that unsecured servers being operated on business networks have the capability of storing sensitive data, which can make anonymous FTP servers easy targets for attackers to steal PHI and PII.

According to Carson Sweet, CTO and co-founder of CloudPassage there are a number of ways cybercriminals can use this stolen data.

Cybercriminals can add data to a fraudster database or sell it on the dark Web. They may also use it for blackmail, leveraging records with information patients wouldn’t want made public, he says.”

Although it is not a new problem, the vulnerability of FTP servers is still relevant today, especially to smaller healthcare practices. Sweet discusses the fact that security is often not the number one priority for smaller organizations, often buying their software from small vendors and continuing to use it for years.

Small medical and dental practices don’t want to change their technology often,” he explains. “They end up with a proliferation; a long-term existence of poorly secured apps.”

Experts believe that smaller businesses get away with using outdated technology because they simply get overlooked by feds paying more mind to larger healthcare organizations. For this reason, smaller practices continue using the outdated technology and thus increase their risk of a data breach.

Pescatore also explains that data theft is not the only risk with anonymous FTP servers. In addition, organizations are at risk of allowing attackers to use their servers to store malicious content.

They can use this as the foundation for a ransomware attack, threatening to publicize their possession of this information unless they pay. A hacker could use an anonymous FTP server to store and sell pirated software, involving the business in selling stolen goods.”

Pescatore describes the difficulty with cybercriminals implementing hazardous content on an FTP server, explaining how it is harder to detect than data theft.

Firewalls or intrusion detection will reveal if cybercriminals are scanning for vulnerable FTP servers, but it’s tougher to tell if they’re implementing dangerous content.”

He goes on to discuss the fact that organizations spend money on data loss prevention to ensure information does not leave the organization, but do not invest in detecting information that is entering the companies’ server.

It is unknown at this point why the FBI has released this warning, but Pescatore believes it is “likely due to a current case.”

He says in past years turning off anonymous FTP servers was not possible due to their use in business practices, but it is becoming much simpler. Both Pescatore and Sweet encourage organizations to turn off their anonymous FTP servers to protect their businesses.

The trend of using an anonymous FTP server should have been eradicated a decade ago,” Sweet emphasized. “It’s not something we should see growing; it’s something we should see shrinking.”

In the FBI’s warning they recommend both medical and dental practices have their IT teams check their networks to ensure they do not have an FTP server running anonymously, and if there is a reason for the anonymous server, it is important to guarantee there is no PHI or PII being stored.

Tags: Breach
No Comments
Share
0

You also might be interested in

Fear and destroy USB drives!

Fear and destroy USB drives!

Apr 8, 2011

In what appears to be a reoccurring story, another hospital[...]

Dropbox is not HIPAA compliant

Apr 29, 2011

An article over at KevinMD.com on using Dropbox to store[...]

5 easy steps to protecting patient data

May 1, 2011

Medical practices are not only tasked with protecting their patient’s[...]

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Recent Posts

  • One Click, $600K Lost: The HIPAA Lesson You Can’t Ignore
  • HIPAA Enforcement: What Every Healthcare Practice Needs to Know
  • Simplifying HIPAA for Small Practices
  • Staying Ahead of AI-Driven Cyber Threats: How HIPAA’s 2025 Security Rule Updates Help
  • AI in Healthcare: Opportunity or Risk? The Answer is Both

Recent Comments

  • Why Your Practice Needs an AI Acceptable Use Policy - HIPAA Secure Now! on How Gen AI is Transforming Everyday Healthcare
  • HIPAA Security Rule Changes 2025: What Your Healthcare Practice Must Know Now - The HJN Blog on 2025 HIPAA Security Rule Updates
  • Too Small for an OCR Audit? 2025 Proves Otherwise - HIPAA Secure Now! on How Engaging Training Reduces Employee Errors in Healthcare
  • 2025 HIPAA Security Rule Updates - HIPAA Secure Now! on How Engaging Training Reduces Employee Errors in Healthcare
  • Overcoming HIPAA Compliance Challenges for Small Healthcare Practices - HIPAA Secure Now! on How Engaging Training Reduces Employee Errors in Healthcare

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011

Categories

  • Backup & Disaster Recovery
  • Business Associates
  • Client News
  • Download
  • Healthcare Industry
  • HIPAA
  • HIPAA Audits
  • HIPAA Violations
  • HSN News
  • Legal
  • MACRA
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Press Release
  • Remote Workforce
  • Risk Assessment
  • Scams
  • Security
  • Security Reminders
  • Security Training
  • Telehealth
  • Uncategorized
  • Webinar
  • Website

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Contact Us

  • HIPAA Secure Now
  • 55 Madison Ave, Suite 400 Morristown, NJ 07960
  • (877) 275 - 4545
  • info@hipaasecurenow.com

Find us on Social Media

LEGAL

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Subscribe to our Newsletter

  • Hidden

© 2025 · HIPAA Secure Now!

Prev Next