Attorney General Merrick Garland and other U.S. officials recently announced that the FBI and international partners have temporarily disrupted the network of a prolific ransomware syndicate they infiltrated last year. This resulted in saving the victims, which include hospitals and school districts, an estimated $130 million in ransom payments.
FBI hacking this time
At a news conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said they employed lawful means to penetrate the ransomware syndicates.
“Simply put, using lawful means we hacked the hackers,” Monaco said.
The authority’s targeted ring, Hive, is known as one of the top five ransomware syndicates in the world, according to officials. They added that Hive has aggressively targeted the healthcare industry.
FBI entered Hive’s control panel covertly in July and was able to collect software keys it utilized with German and other partners to decrypt the networks of around 1,300 victims worldwide, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
No letup vs ransomware syndicates
Officials said that, in order to pursue charges, they were compiling a map of the software’s administrators and affiliates who infect targets and negotiate with victims.
Investigators of the bureau seized two network-supporting computer systems in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. One system is for disclosing the personal information of non-paying victims and the other is for negotiating extortion payments.
Garland said since cybercrime is a constantly evolving threat, the country will use all its resources to find and charge those who plan to attack the US through ransomware.