The U.S. Department of Justice indicted two Iranian citizens Wednesday in connection with a 2016 cyberattack on Maryland’s MedStar Hospital, as well as municipalities.
The indictment alleges Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri worked from inside Iran to carry out ransomware attacks, in which they would shut down computer systems and demand Bitcoin payments in exchange. The two were not arrested, but are now wanted by the FBI.
The malware used was known as the SamSam ransomware. Attackers gained access to a system remotely, and installed it. The March 2016 attack against Columbia-based MedStar Health, which runs Baltimore’s Union Memorial Hospital and nine other hospitals in the region, encrypted data at the hospital, freezing up access to electronic health records. The health system continued to provide care, but were forced to use paper records in some cases.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
