The FBI has seized and partially shutdown a ransomware gang known as Hive that collected more than $100 million from organizations, many of them healthcare.
Hive’s 1,200 targets from June 2021 through November 2022 included the Lake Charles Memorial Health System in Louisiana. In this case, the hackers got no money, but stole patient data for more than 270,000 patients, according to CNN.
In the press conference announcing the seizure, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hive was responsible for taking over a hospital in the summer of 2021 as COVID surged, forcing the hospital to turn away patients, according to the Washington Post.
The bust allowed the FBI to send decryption keys to organizations whose data is currently being held ransom. This is saving more than $130 million in payments, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
