On ‘The Pitt,’ a fictional hospital meltdown highlights a real cyber crisis

HBO’s popular medical drama “The Pitt” is raising the profile of an urgent threat experts wish even more people were talking about: Health care networks around the world are being bombarded by cyberattacks, and they are ill-equipped to deal with them. 

The issue has impacted hospital systems, ambulance providers and pathology services globally — sometimes with deadly consequences. The latest cyberattack on medical device provider Stryker knocked out its networks across the globe, leading to disruptions to its electronic ordering system and a patient data system used by first responders.

“Every day, hospitals are being targeted,” said Cynthia Kaiser, a former top FBI cyber official and head of cyber firm Halcyon’s Ransomware Research Center. “A lot of hospitals operate on thin margins, and they think they have to choose between patient care and cybersecurity.”

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