235 US Hospitals Are Victims of Bitcoin Ransomware Ryuk

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Bitcoin ransomware Ryuk has been used to attack 235 US hospitals and psychiatric hospitals since 2018, The Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the publication, attackers have used the ransomware to freeze the affected hospitals’ files to then demand a ransom in Bitcoin to give the hospitals back access to their systems.

As a result of the attacks, many of the affected hospitals decided to pay the ransom, which amounts to millions of dollars, due to the fact that blocking their systems puts patients’ lives at risk.

The virus is distributed through phishing e-mails using the TrickBot Trojan.

It is worth noting hackers using this virus, who are believed to be from Eastern Europe, made around $150 million in cryptocurrencies last year.