Recorded Future Notes Record-Breaking Increase In Ransomware Attacks on Health Organizations
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by
Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future registered 44 cases of cyber threats targeting health organizations in April, the largest monthly number registered by the company during the past four years it’s been collecting data. The company has reported a peak in ransomware attacks, in which threat actors steal digital information and extort victims, usually by asking for money to give the data back.
Notably, medical firm Change Healthcare recently admitted to paying cybercriminals $22 million, even when they had been advised not to. According to a new report by Wired , this high-profile ransom payment could be contributing to the increase in attacks on medical firms, as revealed by Future Records.
“These kinds of large payments are absolutely going to incentivize ransomware actors to go after health care providers,” said Allan Liska, a threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, to Wired. Even without a clear reason for the increasing number of attacks in the health industry, experts associate it with the profit malicious organizations have been getting from these attacks.
The threats registered in the past few months have affected hundreds of organizations and millions of patients across the globe. While Recorded Future’s data registers 32 cases for May—one case less than the same month the previous year—Liska said these numbers are expected to increase after more cases come to light.
A Life Or Death Matter Worldwide
Most organizations deal with cyber threats silently, but in the past few weeks, many victims of hacker groups have been revealed worldwide.
In the United States in May, ransomware operator Black Basta attacked the hospital network Ascension—a large healthcare system including 140 hospitals and 40 senior centers in around 10 states across the country—and locked them out of their patient care system for days.
According to anonymous sources who spoke to NPR , the program had patient records, personal information, procedures, and medications. Without access to this information, healthcare providers couldn’t be sure about medicines and doses and ended up delaying test results. As a result, patients’ lives were at risk.
More recently, Cybercriminal group LockBit—recently dismantled by the FBI —published 62 gigabytes of data from the French hospital Simone Veil in Cannes after the medical institution refused to pay ransom in May. Reports indicate that sensitive information exposed included medical test results, ID cards, and more information from patients and hospital staff.
Just a few days ago, another ransomware attack targeted the London-based pathology provider Synnovis putting patients’ lives at risk as it affected hospitals serving around 2 million citizens. According to CBC News , the National Health Service in England urged people to donate blood last week as the attack endangered multiple patients.
Mark Dollar, chief executive at Synnovis, assured that they take security seriously but that the attacks are getting harder to avoid and more actions must be taken worldwide. “It is becoming a global problem for everyone, and everyone has to pitch in to enhance the environment so it’s a little bit more secure.”
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Microsoft Xbox Chief Suggests A New Handheld Hardware Will Be Announced Soon
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s Xbox Chief, addressed the rumors of a future Xbox handheld hardware during an IGN Live interview with executive editor Ryan McCaffrey after the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 last week.
McCaffrey asked about the possibility of a new Xbox handheld, to which Spencer replied, “I think we should have a handheld too.” Even though Spencer didn’t provide many details and proposed to the interviewer to ask the president of Xbox at Microsoft, Sarah Bond, he seemed optimistic and suggested new products would be revealed soon.
“The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome,” said Spencer, and he added that he is excited about “the work that the team is doing around different form factors and different ways to play.”
McCaffrey insisted on more information around the topic and requested Spencer to say, hypothetically, if a new device would have the option to use it independently offline or if it would require a wi-fi connection. “I think being able to play games locally is really important,” answered Spencer.
Users have been suspicious of a potential Xbox handheld device for months as they had noticed hints like Spencer’s likes about handhelds on X—before they were hidden .
After IGN’s interview, many echoed their excitement and interest in the idea of a new handheld device. “This would be awesome to see! Really hope they’re actually working on one,” said one user on X .
“Spencer’s optimism is kinda cute. But let’s not get our hopes up too high just yet. The future of Xbox hardware might be ‘awesome’, but we’ve heard that before, and it still hasn’t materialized into a handheld console. Guess we’ll have to wait and see what actually pans out,” commented another .
Xbox Handheld pretty much confirmed as far as I’m concerned 👀 pic.twitter.com/AagO0Tivum — Everborn (NYCC ’24 Booth 2039) Saga (@EverbornSaga) June 10, 2024
It has not been confirmed whether the new hardware announcements will be made by the fall or the end of the year or if the new device could be announced along with the new generations. Xbox fans will have to wait patiently for new developments.
