HHS alerts health sector to new ransomware threat

The Department of Health and Human Services Friday alerted the health sector to a recent ransomware attack on a U.S. cancer center that reduced cancer treatment capability, rendered digital services unavailable and threatened exposure of patient personal health information.
 
“The TimiSoaraHackerTeam (THT) ransomware-as-a-service group is responsible for a recent high-impact ransomware attack that disrupted critical patient care and placed multiple patient lives at risk,” said John Riggi, AHA’s national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “This little-known group may have connections to Eastern Europe and China, according to cyber research firms, and may be linked to other ransomware groups known as DeepBlueMagic and APT 41. THT appears to leverage legitimate computer tools such as BitLocker, BestCrypt, remote desktop protocol and published vulnerabilities in VPN services. It is recommended that the described tools be immediately patched and closely monitored for unusual activity. Any indication of THT or other ransomware signatures on your networks should be immediately reported to the FBI and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.” 
 
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.