I've been a dentist for almost two decades, serving my community of (removed for privacy) with care and dedication. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my clinic would fall victim to a devastating cyberattack. But on the morning of September 6th last year, my world was turned upside down. The day started like any other, but when I sat down and logged into my computer to check my schedule to prepare for the day, a message appeared… stating that my clinic's data had been encrypted by ransomware. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought about how to interpret the message on my screen. Was it a joke? Or a hoax? As my clinic manager arrived and we investigated further, I realized it wasn’t a hoax - we couldn’t even get into our practice management system, and had no way of notifying our patients that we would not be able to see them that day!

The next few days were a blur of desperate phone calls, futile attempts to recover our backup data, and consultations with cybersecurity experts. The I.T. company we were using at the time tried to help, but they had designed our network and backups in a way that left us ill-prepared for this situation. Our clinic was down for over a week, leaving our staff stressed beyond belief, our patients in limbo, and our reputation tarnished. The estimated cost to our clinic was well over $250,000.

The attack had been a result of what I now know is called “social engineering”, exploiting the trust of an unsuspecting staff member over the course of several weeks leading up to the attack. Had our staff (me included) been better educated on this unique I.T. risk we face as dental clinics, and had we used the services of a specialized tech provider, we could have completely avoided this entire disaster.

As we continue to rebuild from this devastating event, I implore my fellow dentists and their teams to learn from my mistake. Don't underestimate the risks that lurk in the digital realm. Invest in the services of an IT provider that understands the unique vulnerabilities relating to dental IT security. Protect your patients, your practice, and your livelihood.

I sincerely hope my story will serve as a cautionary tale for you to safeguard your clinic BEFORE you're faced with a terrible situation like we experienced. (name removed for privacy)