Criminals go after healthcare already stressed by coronavirus.
The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that cybercriminals have stepped up ransomware attacks on groups in the healthcare sector, even as hospitals and clinics are contending with a new wave of coronavirus cases.
In a joint alert, the agencies said, “CISA, FBI, and HHS have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.”
They said the cybercriminals behind the attacks were deploying a ransomware virus that was recently linked to an attack on a German hospital that crashed servers and led to the death of a woman who was unable to receive life-saving care. The virus was also involved in an attack on a Pennsylvania-headquartered hospital chain, Universal Health Systems, with all 250 of its U.S. healthcare facilities negatively impacted by the ransomware attack earlier this month.
When the attacks first emerged, North Korean actors were suspected, but many researchers now think it is linked to Russian cybercriminals instead.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the federal agencies to be able to quickly identify and curtail those responsible for the cyberattacks.
- For hospital administrators and others whose systems have been shut down by the cybercriminals.
- For healthcare patients whose treatment is fully reliant on the utilization of computer-based equipment.
Sources: Reuters, Wired, Time
