Networks of medical clinics in Romania have become victims of ransomware
Romania's National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) has reported a hacker attack on the computer networks of more than a hundred hospitals with programs extorting crypto assets.
The programs attacked IT systems, encrypting data and demanding a $174,000 bitcoin ransom.
Romania's ongoing hospital ransomware attack is getting worse. Cyber security centre said last night that 21 hospitals have had computers encrypted. A chidren's hospital was the first to get hit but now it's spread. Computers in 79 other medical facilities have been unplugged pic.twitter.com/rdsX31VhFd
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) February 13, 2024
The networks of 25 inpatient medical institutions using the Hipocrate (HIS) information system were directly affected by cyber ransomware. Computers of 79 more hospitals were forcibly disconnected from communication networks.
Experts from the Romanian cybersecurity agency said that the attackers used the Backmydata application, a variant of the Phobos ransomware, to encrypt the data of the affected medical institutions. The DNSC recommended that hospital administrations not turn off infected computers and ignore the hackers' demand to pay a ransom.
Last year, analysts at Chainalysis said that criminals' revenue from using ransomware had fallen by more than 40%. The main reasons for the drop in income were increased computer security measures, as well as the unwillingness of victims to pay compensation.
Source: https://bits.media/set-meditsinskikh-klinik-rumynii-stala-zhertvoy-kriptovymogateley/
