A hacker organization has paralyzed the healthcare system of an entire country. They want nearly 5 million euros to release the data, but patients can’t wait that long.
Hackers and fraudsters regularly extort innocent people to enrich themselves. Now, a group of hackers has targeted a healthcare system. These guys seem so greedy that they won’t even stop at risking people’s lives.
Hacker group “forces” authorities to work on paper again
Who is behind the attack? The healthcare system of Costa Rica has been targeted by a group of crypto hackers known as “Hive.” Some researchers suspect that the group collaborates with the Russian-speaking group Conti.
The hackers are now demanding 5 million US dollars in Bitcoin (about 4.7 million euros) from the Costa Rican authorities.
What is particularly nasty about the attack? The hackers around Hive are particularly insidious. They not only encrypt their victims’ data but also threaten to publish sensitive information online for everyone to see. Health data is particularly critical. For this reason, the authorities have shut down their servers to prevent worse from happening.
However, this way, the authorities also cannot access the health data they need for the patients. Consequently, they are significantly slower in providing care for the sick than usual, as the staff is now working on paper again. Equally frustrating: The country can no longer update the COVID-19 infection numbers or bring them up to date.
How severe is the impact of the attack? The extent of the attack is illustrated by the example of Roger González. According to Tech Xplore, González was supposed to receive an electrocardiogram, but he currently cannot because the systems must be back online first (via techexplore.com). It is likely to be much worse for individuals who are critically ill and waiting for an important operation.
Hackers are also targeting gamers
Such fraudsters also regularly try to deceive gamers. Often, they will resort to any means necessary, such as fake Nvidia graphics card drivers, to access data or the performance of the graphics card.
By the way, one of the largest hacking attacks on several major companies like Microsoft and Nvidia is said to have been caused by a 16-year-old boy. A team of cybersecurity investigators had launched extensive inquiries and had tracked him and other hackers down:
16-year-old lives with mom, allegedly hacks the biggest tech giants in the world
