Unit 42, a global threat intelligence team at Palo Alto Networks and a recognized authority on cyberthreat, mentions a ransomware variant (EDA2) found in attacks on a Canadian government healthcare organization and a Canadian medical research university, as well as an info-stealer variant (AgentTesla) used in attacks against various other targets (e.g., a United States defence research entity, a Turkish government agency managing public works, a German industrial manufacturing firm, a Korean chemical manufacturer, a research institute in Japan and medical research facilities in Canada). Fortunately, none of these attacks were successful.

However, what is worse is that cyber criminals are shutting down the IT infrastructure of hospitals until they pay a hefty ransom according to a report in the Washington Post. In March, cyberattacks shut down computers at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District in Illinois for three days. Eventually, the district was forced to shell out $300,000 in ransom, as reported by the Pew Charitable Trust’s Stateline service. Another similar attack shut down computers at a university hospital in the Czech Republic, compelling them to turn away patients.