[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] U.S. authorities have succeeded in shutting down the notorious hacking network 'Hive,' known for ransomware attacks.
Merrick Garland, Attorney General, and Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced at a press conference on the 26th (local time) that they had seized websites, servers, and other assets connected to the ransomware network Hive the previous night.
Hive has extorted huge sums of money by infiltrating computers or networks and demanding payment for recovery. Since June 2021, it has been confirmed that Hive has received over $100 million from 1,500 victims worldwide.
CNN reported that Hive's ransomware attacks were particularly rampant in the medical field. In August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a hospital in the U.S. Midwest that was attacked by Hive had to turn away new patients. Errol Weiss, Chief Security Officer of Health-ISAC, strongly criticized, saying, "Hive threatened the safety and health of the most vulnerable hospital patients," and added, "If hospitals are attacked and medical systems go down, people could die."
The FBI infiltrated Hive's network and monitored it since June last year. They informed victims of attacks to provide decryption keys or take protective measures before Hive could demand ransom payments. They also collaborated with Germany, the Netherlands, and others to seize Hive's servers. Lisa Monaco, Deputy Attorney General, said, "We hacked the hackers using legal means," and added, "We turned the tide against Hive and gained the upper hand."
Cybersecurity experts unanimously welcomed the shutdown of Hive. However, some express concerns that other hacking networks might take its place. FBI Director Wray stated, "We will continue to track down those behind Hive to ensure they can be arrested."
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