Are we seriously seeing a change of heart in the “Ransomware Industry”?
For sure. As per the reports, some ransomware groups have released statements saying they won’t target health and medical facilities in these times of COVID-19 pandemic. Now that’s some change!
Let’s find out what happened and why this happened
First reported, BleepingComputer, a well known computer forum in the industry interviewed certain ransomware groups to find out whether or not healthcare and medical industries are on their targeting list.
What they found out
Answers -”NO”. Operators of Maze, DoppelPaymer, PwndLocke and Ako claimed they will not be targeting healthcare and medical chains during the time of crisis, realizing people are relying on them for survival. They believe they will continue to take this approach throughout the crisis.
Cyware reported in an article, “We also stop all activity versus all kinds of medical organizations until the stabilization of the situation with the virus,” they said. However, they did not comment on whether a free decryptor would be provided if a healthcare facility mistakenly gets encrypted by them.
The Maze operators posted a press release stating they are discontinuing any ransomware attacks against all medical organizations until the pandemic ends.
What more ?
Well believe it or not, there are ransomware groups that have announced they will offer their special hacking skills to protect healthcare organizations facing ransomware threats. All for free. Some key services offered include:
- Providing technical analysis of any ransomware attack.
- Developing a decryption tool to decode any virus in the hospital systems.
- Providing recovery assistance and data loss prevention.
- Worst case scenario, fight against other ransomware groups to negotiate ransom and handle transactions to keep systems safe and clear.
Ransomware organizations are stepping forward realizing the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. The kind initiative will definitely put not only the healthcare industry but also security experts at ease.
Other ransomware groups are encouraged to extend a helping hand in fighting the COVID-19 battle and contribute towards saving humanity.
