DOJ: Russian national charged with cybercrimes for ransomware attacks on hospitals, other entities

The Department of Justice Nov. 18 announced criminal charges against Evgenii Ptitsyn, a Russian national, for allegedly administering the sale, distribution and operation of Phobos ransomware. The ransomware group targeted more than 1,000 public and private entities globally, extorting ransom payments of more than $16 million, according to the DOJ. Phobos is accused of hacking into hospitals, schools and nonprofits, among other entities.

Ptitsyn and co-conspirators are accused of developing Phobos ransomware and offering it to criminal affiliates who would use it to encrypt victims' data and extort payments in exchange for decryption keys. They also operated a darknet website to advertise their services to criminal affiliates on criminal forums and messaging platforms, DOJ said.

"This combined law enforcement operation led by the FBI and assisted by allied nations and, notably, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center is a big win for the 'good guys,'" said John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. "The Phobos ransomware-as-a-service organization conducted multiple attacks against U.S. hospitals that disrupted patient care and posed a risk to patient and community safety. Sustained enforcement operations such as this are crucial for deterrence purposes and to degrade the capability of foreign cyber terrorists to attack U.S. health care. It is also vital for U.S. health care and all ransomware victims to continue timely and robust cooperation with federal agencies to enable such operations."

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at [email protected]. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.