The FBI and other agencies in a joint report mentioned that they had verified information about cyberattacks on U.S. healthcare providers and hospitals. The warning also emphasized that few criminal groups are now targetting the healthcare industry to steal critical data and disrupt health care services.
The ransomware attacks can scramble data into jargon. Only the security keys that the hacker has can reassemble data. The hacker demands payment in turn for providing the security keys. According to cybersecurity experts, the criminal groups had attacked more than five U.S hospitals until this week, and the figures can go up to a hundred. The election is almost near, and a Russian hacking group attacks the healthcare systems.
According to the Guardian, "The federal alert was co-authored by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services." The attack's motive is not clear, but it seems that it was most likely to be money. Cybersecurity firm Mandiant says that this is the most dangerous cyber threat ever witnessed in the U.S. Another firm, Hold Security, states that it is the first time they have seen a massive cyberattack of such scale in the U.S.
We should note that the attack's timing before the elections and during the pandemic makes it a severe cyber threat. In the past 18 months, the U.S has experienced a wave of ransomware attacks, with targets like schools, government authorities, and cities.
"The cybercriminals launching the attacks use a strain of ransomware known as Ryuk, which is seeded through a network of zombie computers called Trickbot that Microsoft began trying to counter earlier in October," reports the Guardian.
