The Invisible Hand Breaking the Silence of Spring: 2013, The Missing Hospital Million Dollars

The Invisible Hand Breaking the Silence of Spring: 2013, The Missing Hospital Million Dollars

In the spring of 2013, Cascade Medical Center in Mount Vernon, Washington, USA, was suddenly hit by a cyber attack that resulted in the unauthorized transfer of a total of $1.03 million. The attack began when computers in the accounting department were infected with the Zeus banking malware system and online banking information was stolen. The perpetrators used legitimate access information to subdivide and transfer hospital funds to multiple accounts in the United States. Many of the recipients were accounts of ordinary people who had been recruited through a "work-from-home" job scam. They were set up by money mules as "money transfer agents," who received the funds in their own nominal accounts and transferred them to Eastern European countries as instructed. Many were unaware of their own involvement in the crime and believed it to be a well-intentioned side job. Thanks to the quick response of the hospital and the bank, approximately $350,000 was recovered, but the remai
ning funds were never returned. This incident showed the world that a sophisticated combination of technological attacks and social fraud can target even small healthcare organizations, and that seemingly harmless telecommuting can become a gateway to international crime. The fragility of "trust" and "routine" in cyberspace broke the silence of spring.