{"id":177477,"date":"2026-01-13T09:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/13\/zero-trust-approach-could-offer-defense-against-rising-cyberattacks\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:45:09","slug":"zero-trust-approach-could-offer-defense-against-rising-cyberattacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/13\/zero-trust-approach-could-offer-defense-against-rising-cyberattacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero-trust approach could offer defense against rising cyberattacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zero-trust approach could offer defense against rising cyberattacks<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wafb.com\/2026\/01\/13\/zero-trust-approach-could-offer-defense-against-rising-cyberattacks\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-01-13 09:31:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.wafb.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. (InvestigateTV) \u2014 A mother\u2019s worst nightmare unfolded in an Iowa emergency room when her 3-year-old son received a medication overdose due to a ransomware attack that disrupted the hospital\u2019s computer systems. Kelley Parsi brought her son, Jay, to a Des Moines emergency room in October 2022 after he became dehydrated following a tonsillectomy. What should have been routine care turned into a medical emergency when staff administered too much Tylenol with codeine, she said. \u201cShe just had like this big syringe of Tylenol and gave him Tylenol. And then the pediatrician came in and was like, \u2018Hey I need to talk to you. We overdosed your son,\u2019\u201d Parsi said, breaking into tears as she recalled the incident. The confusion stemmed from a ransomware attack at the hospital that caused problems with access to patient records, Parsi said. Cybercrime losses reach $16 billionThe incident highlights the growing threat of ransomware, a type of malware that holds a victim\u2019s data or device hostage until the attacker is paid. In 2024, Americans lost more than $16 billion to online crime, a 33% increase from the previous year, according to the FBI. Globally, total losses are projected to reach $23 trillion by 2027. Zero-trust principles gain tractionDr. Christopher Whyte, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the solution lies in adopting a \u201czero-trust\u201d mindset. \u201cIf somebody calls you and almost no matter what they say, immediately consider them to be untrustworthy,\u201d Whyte said. Zero-trust is a cybersecurity approach that assumes no user or device should be trusted by default. \u201cZero-trust is kind of the architecture of cybersecurity in the workforce today. It\u2019s a set of principles that basically says, never assume you are safe because of the security steps you have already taken,\u201d Whyte said. The rise of new technologies and artificial intelligence has transformed the cybersecurity landscape, creating new vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. \u201c2025, following on from 2024, we\u2019ve seen extensive new forms of attack against America\u2019s critical infrastructure by actors across that criminal to nation-state gamut,\u201d Whyte said. Recent cyberattacks have targeted more than 300 major organizations across the medical and manufacturing sectors through the Medusa ransomware group. The Department of Homeland Security has warned that this represents just the beginning of escalating threats. Regulatory response lags behind technology Whyte said current laws struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology threats. \u201cThere\u2019s good models around the world and we\u2019re not there in the United States,\u201d he said. He pointed to the European Union as a positive example, noting their recent AI Act as \u201cthe first, global, major regulation that deals with the regulation of AI based on risk categories.\u201d Concerns about the destruction of dataWhyte expressed particular concern about ransomware attacks where criminals may destroy data. \u201cThey\u2019re not looking for money, they\u2019re just looking to encrypt the data and they\u2019ll never give you the key, at which point they\u2019ve destroyed the data,\u201d he said. \u201cApply that to a health care system. You\u2019re in a situation there where people in hospital, the nursing staff, are not able to access information about the kinds of medication, the amounts of medication somebody is meant to have.\u201d Despite the challenges, Whyte said adaptation remains possible. \u201cThe lessons we\u2019re learning are always evolving in this space. That is true for our adversaries as much as it is for the defenders,\u201d he said. A 2021 executive order mandated that federal agencies adopt zero-trust principles. The Defense Department has set 2027 as its deadline for full compliance. Copyright 2026 Gray Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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