A New Ransomware Deploys Human-Operated Attacks Against Healthcare Sector

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Microsoft's security team revealed a new ransomware that is deployed in human-operated attacks.

According to a series of tweets published by the tech giant on May 27, the human-operated ransomware attack, named "PonyFinal", requires hackers to break the security scheme of corporate networks in order to deploy the ransomware manually.

A Java-based ransomware attackThe Java-based Pony Final deploys a Java Runtime Environment, or JRE. Evidence found by Microsoft shows that attackers use information stolen from the systems management server to target endpoints where JRE is already installed.

The report further states that the ransomware is delivered via an MSI file that contains two batch files, including the payload that will be activated by the attacker.

Phillip Misner, research director of Microsoft Threat Protection, clarifies that there are other human-operated ransomware campaigns such as Bitpaymer, Ryuk, Revil, and Samas.

More than one group of attackers are using PonyFinalThe report highlights that authorship cannot be attributed to a single group of attackers, as several hacker groups are using this same form of ransomware.

"Human-operated ransomware such as PonyFinal is not unusual and nor is its delivery method which, according to Microsoft, is 'thru brute force attacks against a target company's systems management server.' Attacks on internet-facing servers are not at all unusual and account for a significant percentage of ransomware incidents. But they're also mostly preventable as such attacks typically only succeed because of a security weakness or vulnerability."

Latest ransomware attacks in the midst of the coronavirus pandemicRansomware attacks continue to be carried out in different parts of the world in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, with many targeting healthcare companies.

Cointelegraph reported on March 30 that operators of Ryuk ransomware continue to target hospitals.

On May 7, hackers reportedly infected the IT infrastructure of the largest private hospital in Europe, Germany-based Fresenius, with a ransomware known as Snake.

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