Joe UchillFeb 28, 2024

There was a point 8 years ago when attacking hospitals was too much for ransomware practitioners.

After the Hollywood Presbyterian ransomware attack in 2016, the majority condemned it on criminal forums. One reported quote:

"from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely wish that the mothers of all ransomware distributors end up in the hospital, and that the computer responsible for the resuscitation machine gets infected with [the ransomware]"

Show threadjonas Mar 1, 2024
@JoeUchill interesting reading, but this years ago, before the attack on Ukraine. How is the current state of this mentality? Is it now more legitimate to attack hospitals?
Show threadJoe Uchill

@jbg
I was posting this in response to a children's hospital being hit by ransomware - so it's safe to say criminals are more lenient than they used to be.

As @brett notes, average ransoms are up dramatically since 2017, which might loosen morals a bit.

Generally - and this rule has been true forever - the only rule for these groups is not to attack within the Russian Federation.

Mar 1, 2024 at 6:32amWeb
Show threadJoe UchillMar 1, 2024
@jbg @brett
Emsisoft calculated more than 140 hospitals across nearly 50 hospital systems were hit by ransomware in 2023. It's a thriving business.