FBI Director Christopher Wray said Iranian government-backed hackers were behind an attempted cyberattack of the Boston Children's Hospital in 2021, Boston Herald reported June 1.
FBI agents learned of the planned attack from a tip provided from an unspecified intelligence partner. The agency was then able to warn Boston Children's Hospital, allowing it to thwart the attack before the hackers had a chance to do damage.
Mr. Wray called the attempted hack, "one of the most despicable cyberattacks I've seen."
Mr. Wray did not detail the motive behind the attempted hack, but said that Iran and other countries have been hiring hackers to conduct attacks on their behalf.
The FBI director also emphasized that private companies need to build relationships with the FBI in order to thwart nation-state hackers and ransomware gangs.