FBI alerts organizations to new ransomware threat

The FBI today released an alert on Hive ransomware, which uses mechanisms such as phishing emails with malicious attachments and Remote Desktop Protocol to access and move through victim networks, exfiltrate data and encrypt files. The alert highlights indicators of Hive ransomware compromise and recommended mitigation actions.

John Riggi, AHA senior advisor for cybersecurity and risk, said, “This new strain of ransomware may be of particular concern for health care and utilizes the ‘double extortion’ method — demand for ransom payment for decryption key to access on-site encrypted data along with ransom payment demand to prevent public release of stolen patient information. The FBI and AHA strongly discourage payment of ransom if at all possible. Regardless of whether you or your organization decide to pay the ransom, the FBI urges you to report ransomware incidents to your local field office. Doing so provides investigators with the critical information they need to track ransomware attackers, hold them accountable under U.S. law, and prevent future attacks.”

For more on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at jriggi@aha.org.