According to reports late last week, another ransomware attack has hit the U.S. The attackers encrypted the file systems at three hospitals and demanded cryptocurrency as payment to provide the decryption keys. Medical staff at the hospitals were reportedly "forced to switch to a manual paper system to track patient data while their systems were down." According to a report published in early October, "[i]n the first nine months of 2019, at least 621 government entities, healthcare service providers and school districts, colleges and universities were affected by ransomware." The report estimates the total losses from these attacks at $5 billion.
In another hacking incident reported this week, the cellphone of an executive at a blockchain investment firm was hacked, resulting in the loss of $1 million to $2 million in cryptocurrencies. Separately, a malware attack was reported this week that involves a relatively simple botnet that has reached an estimated 2,000 devices per week since December 2018 in a phishing scam. Victims who open a malicious file attached to a phishing email enable the malware to steal cryptocurrencies stored in hot wallets on the victim's device.
In a final item of note, last week a "high-severity security vulnerability" was reported in Tendermint Core, the consensus engine of the Cosmos blockchain interoperability platform. According to reports, an update patch has been released, and all validators and service providers on Tendermint-powered networks have been advised to update their software.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Alabama Hospitals Pay Out in Ransomware Attack Amid FBI Warning of More to Come
- State of Ransomware in the U.S.: 2019 Report for Q1 to Q3
- Algo Capital Loses Crypto Funds After CTO's Phone Is Hacked
- Hackers Launch Widespread Botnet Attack on Crypto Wallets Using Cheap Russian Malware
- Research: $160 Malware Botnet Tries to Steal Crypto From 72,000 Devices
- Cosmos Network Discloses Critical Vulnerability in Tendermint Core
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