Russian national pleads guilty to role in ransomware attacks

A Russian national Dec. 4 pleaded guilty to his role in developing and deploying a suite of malware tools known as Trickbot, used to launch ransomware attacks against American hospitals and other businesses, the Department of Justice announced.

“Combating bad actors in cyberspace is a team sport, and we are proud of the collaboration and coordination at the international level that went into today’s plea,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division.

John Riggi, AHA’s national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, said, “In a time when most cyber news is about the latest threat or attack, we applaud this win for the ‘good guys.’ The combined efforts of the FBI, Department of Justice and international partners have brought to justice this notorious cybercriminal who facilitated ransomware attacks against American hospitals and health systems, disrupting care delivery and risking patient safety. This win highlights the need for ransomware victim hospitals to cooperate with the FBI and other federal agencies to aid in investigative efforts and to gather cyber threat intelligence to prevent future attacks.”  

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at jriggi@aha.org. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.