Back to another episode of News Bites! I’m Paz Bueno. And I’m Brody Halverson. In today's news: The number of pet dogs and cats increases, nurses say ransomware is stressing hospital operations, and seeing double! Keep on listening to find out more! ________________________________ 寵物貓狗的數量 逐年增加 Number of Pet Dogs and Cats Increases Having a pet is a great way to keep you company. Over the past decades, the number of pets has constantly (持續) increased. The statistics are shown in a recent survey done by the Ministry of Agriculture (農業部). Last year, there were almost 1.5 million dogs and more than 1.3 million cats in Taiwan. Compared to 2021, the number of dogs increased by 19% and cats by 50%. As for other pets, there was also a 3.3% increase. This phenomenon (現象) is happening globally. Statistics show that there are over half a billion dogs and cats in the U.S., E.U., and China alone. Not to mention the other countries. The global COVID-19 pandemic (疫情) also contributed to the increase of pets. As people were under lockdown (封鎖) in their homes, millions of them adopted a pet to keep them company. In Australia alone, there was an increase of 1.2 million pet dogs after the pandemic. Another reason is that as raising children is challenging, many have turned to raising pets. As a result, the pet industry is rapidly growing. According to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院), the average amount that pet owners spend on a pet every year is NT$28,000. It is estimated around NT$50 billion (寵物經濟規模達到五百多 億) are spent on pets every year in Taiwan. Going to the vet, regular grooming at pet salons, pet food and treats, equipment and toys and so much more. 每年舉辦寵物展的場次幾乎快超越婦幼展了。 In a few years, the number of pets in Taiwan will surpass (超越) the number of children. This also poses a problem for pet control. Currently, the law requires pet dogs to be microchipped and registered. Whereas, only Taipei requires owners to register cats. The MOA is assessing the possibility of a mandatory (強制) cat registration throughout the country. So, don’t be surprised if you see more dogs than children in the park in the near future. ________________________________ 勒索軟體癱瘓醫院作業 Nurses Say Ransomware Is Stressing Hospital Operations When a computer is attacked by ransomware, all the files are locked. You can still turn your computer on and off, but that’s basically everything you can do. In other words, your computer is kidnapped (綁架) by hackers (駭客). You have to pay a ransom (贖金) of crypto currency (加密貨幣). After that, you might receive a password to regain control of your computer. If you don’t want to pay, you can always format (格式化) and reinstall the operating system on your computer. But you will lose all your files. Imagine the amount of damage ransomware can do to a company, or even a hospital. A recent attack on a major US hospital network is endangering patient’s health. All the nurses, doctor and staff have to shift to paper records. With the computers down, doctors have to write paper prescriptions (處方簽). The nurses then have to take it to a machine to enter manually (手動輸入) to obtain the medication. With the system offline, it’s almost impossible to cross-check it with the pharmacy. This might lead to an overdose (過量) of medication. Due to the hack, lab results that usually take 30 minutes to 1 hour to process are now taking hours. This will cause a delay in patient care and immediate (即時) treatment. All these are matters of life and death. The reason that cybercriminals (網路犯罪份子) target healthcare organizations is because they possess an enormous volume of sensitive data that can be sold for money. Healthcare organizations also can’t afford to be offline for too long and are more likely to pay the ransom. Experts say that many hospitals also lack sufficient cyber security measures (手段). 這些勒索軟體的攻擊，其實比大多數人認為的還要頻繁。 249 ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations were reported in America last year. Authorities should really assist with cyber security in the healthcare industry. ________________________________ So, in today's News Bites: The number of pet dogs and cats is increasing. As raising children is challenging, many have turned to raising pets. ________________________________ And, Nurses say ransomware is stressing hospital operations. Information have to be handwritten and could delay patient treatment. ________________________________ 趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit Chameleons and seahorses can move their eyes separately. This allows them to see in two directions at the same time! Chameleons can move their eyes independently, giving them nearly 360° vision. And just like a chameleon, seahorses can look in different directions at once. It’s a handy skill for hunting, allowing them to keep an eye out for both prey and predators! --- If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you’d like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode! We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!