Recently, the FBI informed the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) about a credible cybersecurity threat to dental practices. After targeting plastic surgeons last year, the FBI believes that the group behind these cyber attacks is shifting its focus to oral surgery and other types of dental practices.

Cyber criminals often use social engineering scams such as phishing emails to gain access to sensitive personal data, such as electronic protected health information, or to install viruses and malware. Spear phishing refers to a phishing email that appears to be from a trusted source. Through scams, cyber criminals try to convince staffers to reveal sensitive information, or to click a link, open an attachment, or visit a website that deploys malware. Worse yet, malware can lead to ransomware, which holds your systems and/or file access hostage until a significant ransom is paid.