KHN Morning Briefing – Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations | JAN 27 2023
KAISER HEALTH NEWS – The group, called Hive, attacked hospitals, school districts, financial firms, and other organizations and is accused of extorting over $100 million to decrypt its ransomware.
Efforts by the FBI, Justice Department, and European law enforcement have now shut Hive down.
The Washington Post: FBI Shuts Down Ransomware Gang That Targeted Schools And Hospitals
The FBI and law enforcement in Europe have shut down a major ransomware operation accused of extorting more than $100 million from organizations across the world by encrypting victims’ computer systems and demanding payments to provide a key to unlock them, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ransomware group called Hive attacked hospitals, school districts, financial firms and others, stealing and sometimes publishing their data.
Like some other prolific groups, Hive partnered with independent hackers who broke in through phishing or other means:
The gang provided the encryption program and ransomware negotiations, and split the profits with the hackers. (Menn, Stein and Schaffer, 1/26)
Politico: Justice Department Disrupts Group Behind Thousands Of Ransomware Attacks
Justice Department personnel used a court order on Wednesday night to seize two back-end servers belonging to the Hive ransomware group in Los Angeles and took control of the group’s darknet website, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.
Garland, at a press conference in Washington, said Hive was behind attacks in the past two years on a Midwest hospital, which was forced to stop accepting new patients and to pay a ransom to decrypt health data.
While Garland did not name the hospital, the Memorial Health System in West Virginia and Ohio was attacked by Hive affiliates at the same time. Hive was also linked to an attack last year on Costa Rica’s public health service. (Miller, 1/26)
