Agencies warn of Ghost ransomware activity

A joint advisory released Feb. 19 by the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center warns of cybercriminal activity by the Ghost ransomware group. The agencies identified actions as recently as last month by the group, which originates from China. 

Since 2021, Ghost actors have targeted victims with outdated software and firmware, compromising organizations in more than 70 countries. Their victims include critical infrastructure, health care, schools and technology companies, among other organizations. 

“Ghost actors exploit well-known vulnerabilities and target networks where available patches have not been applied,” said Scott Gee, AHA deputy national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “They simply ‘hack before we patch.’ This group is also leveraging legitimate cybersecurity tools such as Cobalt Strike to enable access and other tools for privilege escalation. It is recommended that patching policies be reviewed to achieve maximum efficiency and speed. It is also recommended that network security tools be set to alert for activation of Cobalt Strike and privilege escalation applications.” 

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