March
Pro-Russia hackers are increasingly targeting hospitals, researchers warn
PUBLISHED: March 19th, 2023
Cybersecurity researchers said this week that they have observed the pro-Russia hacking group known as Killnet increasingly launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks targeting healthcare organizations since November. Killnet was established following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and spent most of the last year launching DDoS attacks against governments and companies around the world.
While the attacks are mostly a nuisance – knocking websites offline for about an hour in most cases – they have caused concern within the U.S. government, particularly when they are launched at critical infrastructure like airports and hospitals.
CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) told The Record that DDoS incidents have become a priority issue for them as they seek to protect critical infrastructure.
“Our regional personnel are working closely with our partners on the ground and we encourage all organizations — including state and local governments — to stay vigilant and to take steps to protect themselves,” the spokesperson said, referencing a guide released with the FBI in October about how organizations can reduce the likelihood and impact of DDoS attacks.
The spokesperson added that for much of the past year, CISA has been helping organizations mitigate DDoS attacks, particularly those launched by Killnet. The agency also worked with several tech companies to provide free resources to under-funded organizations that can help them reduce the impact of DDoS attacks.
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