Insufficient Backups, Not Bitcoin, at Fault as Hollywood Hospital’s Data Held Ransom by Hackers
In a February 17 letter, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center President & CEO Allen Stefanek said, “…the amount of Bitcoins requested was 40 Bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $17,000.” This is the number of bitcoins that the HPMC transferred to a hacker or hackers in exchange for the decryption key to the malware locking them out of their IT....
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A cyberattack targeting a Hollywood hospital laced with ransomware malware has been making rounds in mainstream news circles recently. In a separate incident, the Horry County school system in North Carolina was also struck by a ransomware cyberattack. The cyberattack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center lasted nearly a fortnight after beginning on 5 Feb, with hospital systems affected and staff declaring an ‘internal emergency’. On Wednesday, the hospital announced that it had relented and paid the ransom demanded by extortionists. $17,000 in bitcoins. The attack began on the evening....
Chainalysis signed an agreement with Europol on Friday that paves the way for the European law enforcement agency to use the New York-based company’s blockchain analytics tools to investigate criminals who use Bitcoin. The deal between Europol and Chainalysis comes just days after news broke about a high-profile ransomware attack against Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The attacker froze the hospital’s computer systems for 10 days and demanded 40 bitcoins, about $17,000, to restore service. The brazen attack and the hospital’s decision to pay the ransom has renewed the debate about....
Ransomware is becoming increasingly popular with hackers and cyber criminals. The ability to lock down an entire system and render it useless until a ransom has been met is quite powerful. Ransomware often requires payment in a method that is irreversible, allowing the criminals to keep any payments they received unless they are caught of course. The FBI has warned that companies might not be able to get their data back unless they pay the ransom or have backups in which they can restore the system to. Cryptolocker was incredibly prevalent for a year but was replaced by Cryptowall, a very....
Cyber crime startup Chainalysis has raised $1.6 million USD, while announcing collaboration with Europol following an uptick in Bitcoin related ransomware attacks, which included including Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center’s recent $17,000 USD bitcoin payout. Chainalysis Partners with Europol. While a 40-bitcoin ($17,000 USD) ransom payout made its....
Hackers creating online malware attacks typically demand bitcoin ransom, as this prevents authorities from tracking where the payments went. Bitcoin transactions are anonymous and irreversible, making these the usual mode of ransom required by scammers. Just recently, a company based in Brisbane suffered internal data theft and was demanded to pay bitcoin ransom to its hackers. Initially, the company refused to make the payments but the hackers escalated their threats. Bitcoin Ransom Payment. Eventually, the Australian firm gave in to the demands and gave the hackers the amount they wanted....