Throughout 2022, more than 200 major public sector organizations in the United States have been impacted by Ransomware (opens in a new tab) attacks.
Cybersecurity experts Emsisoft claim companies in government, education and healthcare industries are the most affected, after reviewing public reports, disclosure statements as well as web leaks. blackmail and third-party intelligence.
In about half of the incidents detected, the threat actors took away sensitive data.
Hiding the incident
Detailing the attacks that occurred last year, a total of 105 counties were targeted by ransomware, as were 44 universities and colleges, 45 school districts, and 24 healthcare providers.
Despite extensive research, the company says the numbers may not be convincing, as not all organizations are eager to disclose cybersecurity incidents. Compared to private companies, public organizations are more likely to share details of such incidents, but it is still possible that some incidents have been hidden.
“The reality is that no one knows for sure whether the number of attacks is constant or tends to increase or decrease,” Emsisoft said in its report.
Besides the undisclosed and hidden incidents, there are also incidents that may have occurred as Emsisoft prepared its report, such as the attack on the CentraState Medical Center that is believed to have occurred on the December 30, 2022. At that time, the organization announced to stop accepting patients “due to a cybersecurity issue”.
Ransomware miners are often hesitant to attack healthcare providers, as a potentially deadly consequence would mark the end of their operations and total freedom. .
Over the weekend, the LockBit ransomware operators separated themselves from an affiliate that targeted the SickKids hospital for sick children, claiming they had broken their rules by attacking the SickKids hospital. public health care organization. The team apologized for the problem and provided a decoder.
Via: BleepingComputer (opens in a new tab)
