Costa Rica public health system targeted by ransomware

By JAVIER CÓRDOBA
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Another attempted hacking of a Costa Rican government agency’s computer system has led the country’s public health agency to shut down its systems to protect itself, complicating the medical care of thousands. At least 30 of the Social Security agency’s 1,500 servers were infected with ransomware, according to the government. The latest breach Tuesday follows an attack by the Russian-speaking Conti gang in April. That ransomware attack targeted multiple Costa Rican government agencies, especially its finance ministry, which still has not recovered control of some of its systems. This time the attack appeared to come from another ransomware gang known as “Hive.”