Unsuccessful Conti Ransomware Attack Still Packs Costly Punch

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Ireland’s department of health services continues to grapple with a ransomware attack that occurred last week by the Conti gang. Officials state the attack will cost tens of millions to repair, even though attackers were not successful in their attempt to encrypt systems on Ireland’s Department of Health (DoH) systems.
 
“Hundreds of people” are still “working flat out” to get all Ireland DoH services and systems up and running, Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly tweeted late Monday as an update to the attack that occurred last week.
 
The incident that affected the DoH was part of a one-two punch that came with a separate attack that affected the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE), which also was attributed to Conti gang. In that incident, systems were encrypted and health officials also continue to work to resolve the situation.

Hundreds of people are working flat out in response to this despicable cyber attack on our health system and on patients. We're focused on getting health services and appointments for patients back on track as quickly as possible. (1/4)
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) May 17, 2021

Attackers have reportedly asked for a $20 million ransom, which the HSE has said it will not pay, according to a report by BeepingComputer . The Conti gang is known for asking exorbitantly large ransoms from public institutions, which typically aren’t the most cash-rich; it previously demanded a $40 million ransom from a Florida public school district.
 
In the case of the DoH, “the deployment of tools during the investigation process an attempt to execute ransomware was detected and stopped,” according to a report on the incident by the Irish National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) published Sunday.

Read more: Unsuccessful Conti Ransomware Attack Still Packs Costly Punch | Threatpost