Clop ransomware gang targeting US healthcare, HHS warns

Russian-backed ransomware gang Clop poses a major threat to the healthcare and public health sector as it has allegedly attacked Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center wrote in its Feb. 22 brief. 

Six things to know about Clop:

  1. Clop is a Russia-linked ransomware group that has been active since February 2019.

  2. Most recently, the group claimed responsibility for a mass-hacking of 130 organizations, including Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems. The attack lasted 10 days and allegedly compromised patient health data, yet the HHS says these claims have been unconfirmed.

  3. Clop operates as a ransomware as a service.

  4. In 2021, 77 percent of the group's attacks were attempts at hacking critical infrastructure industry.  
  1. In June 2021, law enforcement arrested six individuals in Ukraine linked to Clop, but according to the HHS, this has not deterred them.

  2. HHS is recommending organizations patch the GoAnywhere software flaw that Clop has recently utilized to attack Community Health Systems, and urged healthcare organizations to stay vigilant.

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