BitsnBytes Fall2023

Bits & bytes Fall 2023 3 T he Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has successfully dismantled Qakbot, a malware with the initial purpose of stealing credentials, in an international cyber takedown operation. Christopher Wray, FBI Director, announced that access to Qakbot’s infrastructure was gained, which resulted in identifying more than 700,000 infected computers worldwide, including 200,000 in the United States. Qakbot played a key role in enabling prolific ransomware groups to cause extensive losses. The operation used to dismantle Qakbot involved an innovative technique, severing thousands of computers FBI Successfully Protects Hospitals from Qakbot Malware from the botnet—a group of computers infected by malware—and restoring control to the victims. The FBI also highlighted that the defensive action against this long-running botnet resulted in the seizure of $8.6 million in extorted cryptocurrency, as reported by Healthcare IT News (September 5, 2023). This comes in the wake of the FBI’s actions against the Hive, a ransomware group that attacks public institutions and demands ransom to release stolen data, earlier this year. Cybercrime organizations such as Hive have shown a strong interest in targeting healthcare organizations. The American Hospital Association (AHA) has called for greater federal support and proactive actions by the government to combat healthcare cyberattacks. John Riggi, AHA National Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk and former FBI agent, emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in strengthening cybercrime response capabilities—nothing that Qakbot is easily weaponized with AI tools like OpenAI’s GPT-4. Wray emphasized the FBI’s commitment to targeting all aspects of cybercriminal organizations and their illicit infrastructure. On September 7, 2023, Riggi shed light on the global cyber threat landscape and healthcare risk at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum in Boston. Click the button below to read the original article. Christopher Wray Healthcare IT News info@qualifacts.com www.qualifacts.com Bridgette Brashear Senior Director 713-350-3321 bridgette.brashear@alliantgroup.com www.alliantgroup.com