Hive Ransomware, A Particular Concern for Healthcare

As cyberattacks on health systems are now regrettably commonplace, the FBI has released an alert about the malicious Hive ransomware, the same group that took down Memorial Health System on Aug. 15.

The alert says that “Hive ransomware, which was first observed in June 2021 and likely operates as an affiliate-based ransomware, employs a wide variety of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), creating significant challenges for defense and mitigation. Hive ransomware uses multiple mechanisms to compromise business networks, including phishing emails with malicious attachments to gain access and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to move laterally once on the network.”

Further, “After compromising a victim network, Hive ransomware actors exfiltrate data and encrypt files on the network. The actors leave a ransom note in each affected directory within a victim’s system, which provides instructions on how to purchase the decryption software. The ransom note also threatens to leak exfiltrated victim data on the Tor site, “HiveLeaks.”