<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654111169179,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654111169179,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54107141", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1023849"} }); ","_id":"00000181-20b5-d131-a589-e3b766070000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe FBI claims to have foiled a cyberattack intended to penetrate the network system of the Boston Children’s Hospital last summer.
Iranian-backed hackers are believed to have been behind the attempted attack in June 2021, and FBI officials were able to thwart the plot after receiving a report identifying it from a “valued partner within the intelligence community,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday.
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“We got a report from one of our intelligence partners indicating Boston Children’s was about to be targeted,” Wray said during a press conference. “And, understanding the urgency of the situation, the cyber squad in our Boston field office raced to notify the hospital.”
Hackers targeted software used in the children’s hospital developed by networking firm Fortinet with the goal of gaining control of the hospital’s systems, said Wray, calling it “one of the most despicable cyberattacks I’ve seen.” FBI officials were able to collaborate with hospital staff to mitigate the threats the attack posed.
“Quick actions by everyone involved, especially at the hospital, protected both the network and the sick kids” depending on the hospital for treatment, Wray continued. “It’s a great example of why we deploy in the field the way we do.”
Boston Children’s Hospital has one of the largest pediatric research enterprises in the country. Wray did not disclose what the hackers were after in the alleged attack. No ransomware was deployed on the network, Joseph Bonavolonta, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office, noted, according to CNN.
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Wray detailed the incident during a speech at Boston College for the annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security. During his speech, Wray said the United States should not lose sight of cyber threats from “China or Iran or criminal syndicates” while focusing on Russia’s unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
“Now, unfortunately, hospitals these days and a lot of other providers of critical infrastructure have even more to worry about than Iranian government hackers,” Wray said. “If malicious cyber actors are going to purposefully cause destruction, or hold data and systems for ransom, they tend to hit us somewhere that’s really going to hurt. And that’s why we’ve increasingly seen cybercriminals using ransomware against U.S. critical infrastructure sectors.”
