The FBI and international partners have at least temporarily dismantled the network of a prolific ransomware gang they infiltrated last year, saving victims including hospitals and school districts a potential $130 million in ransom payments, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other U.S. officials announced Thursday.
“Simply put, using lawful means we hacked the hackers,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at a news conference.
Officials said the targeted syndicate, known as Hive, operates one of the world’s top five ransomware networks and has heavily targeted hospitals and other health care providers. The FBI quietly gained access to its control panel in July and was able to obtain software keys to decrypt the network of some 1,300 victims globally, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. Officials credited German police and other international partners.
It was not immediately clear how the takedown will affect Hive’s long-term operations, however. Officials did not announce any arrests but said they were building a map of Hive’s administrators, who manage the software, and affiliates, who infect targets and negotiate with victims, to pursue prosecutions.
“I think anyone involved with Hive should be concerned because this investigation is ongoing,” Wray said.
On Wednesday night, FBI agents seized computer infrastructure in Los Angeles that was used to support the network. Two Hive dark web sites were seized: one used for leaking data of non-paying victims, the other for negotiating extortion payments.
“Cybercrime is a constantly evolving threat, but as I have said before, the Justice Department will spare no resource to bring to justice anyone anywhere that targets the United States with a ransomware attack,” Wray said.
Garland said that thanks to the infiltration, led by the FBI’s Tampa office, agents were able in one instance to disrupt a Hive attack against a Texas school district, stopping it from making a $5 million payment.
The operation is a big win for the Justice Department. The ransomware scourge is the world’s biggest cybercrime headache with everything from Britain’s postal service and Ireland’s national health service to Costa Rica’s government crippled by Russian-speaking syndicates that enjoy Kremlin protection. The criminals lock up, or encrypt, victims’ computer networks, steal sensitive data and demand large sums.
As an example of Hive’s threat, Garland said it had prevented a hospital in the Midwest in 2021 from accepting new patients at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The online takedown notice, alternating in English and Russian, mentions Europol and German federal and state police as partners in the effort. In a statement, Europol said companies in more than 80 countries, including oil multinationals, have been compromised by Hive. It said Europol assisted with cryptocurrency, malware and other analysis, and that law enforcement agencies from 13 countries were involved in the effort.
A U.S. government advisory last year said Hive ransomware actors victimized over 1,300 companies worldwide from June 2021 through November 2022, receiving approximately $100 million in ransom payments. It said criminals using Hive ransomware targeted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure, including government, manufacturing and especially health care and public health facilities.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.