FBI, DHS, HHS warn of credible and imminent cyber threat to healthcare
By John Yeast & Anthony W. Minge, EdD
Fitch & Associates
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.
CISA, FBI, and HHS have released AA20-302A Ransomware Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sector that details both the threat and practices that healthcare organizations should continuously engage in to help manage the risk posed by ransomware and other cyber threats. The advisory references the joint CISA MS-ISAC Ransomware Guide that provides a ransomware response checklist that can serve as a ransomware-specific addendum to organization cyber incident response plans.
The ransomware world of threat actors has become more complex with increased sophistication around their own business models and strategies. The evolution has included the development of ransomware as a service, (RaaS) resembling software as a service (SasS). These RaaS organizations are run by sophisticated attackers and malicious developers operating more like an enterprise company with customer service, online support, call centers and payment processors. Just like a modern customer-focused business, they have people who respond to questions, assist with payment and decryption and are very organized.