L.A. Hospital Pays $17K Ransom To Hackers

Published February 18, 2016 at 1:33 PM EST

The entrance to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles is pictured in 2014. (omaromar/Flickr)

Earlier this month, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles was attacked by hackers, who took patient medical records and demanded ransom. This week, the hospital paid $17,000 in bitcoin to get those records back.

The hospital says that patient care was not compromised, but the case is drawing attention to what experts say is not unusual: everyone from hospitals to police departments paying ransom to reclaim stolen data. Ali Velshi, host of “Ali Velshi on Target” on Al Jazeera America, joins Here & Now’s Robin Young with details.

Guest

Ali Velshi, host of “Ali Velshi on Target” on Al Jazeera America. He tweets @AliVelshi.

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