April 7, 2020
I chose this article because I was stunned that some cybercrime groups are publicly stating that they will not target healthcare organizations throughout the duration of the pandemic. For weeks there have been websites, links, and articles thats only purpose was to play on fear as well as the need for information in order to “spread malware and defraud victims.” So why would groups that are known for relinquishing ransomware suddenly turn a new leaf and should those in healthcare take their word seriously.
Before I overview the important details in the article, I would like to input my opinion. I believe that healthcare organizations should take this truce with a grain of salt and have their security systems on high alert because this seems a little too odd. As stated, the government has already seen COVID-19 infection distribution maps laced with malware appearing across the web. In response, Lawrence Abrams contacted tased several cybercrime organizations with the simple question of: ‘will you continue to target health and medical organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic?’ The DoppelPaymer cybercrime group “has said that if a medical or healthcare organization does get hit by mistake, then it will provide a free decrypter code. “If we do it by mistake, we’ll decrypt for free”. The same can be same for the group Maze. However, they did not say they will not attack pharmaceutical companies.
Carri Writes 