EVEN ruthless cyber hackers have a conscience, it appears, with a ransomware gang issuing a formal apology to a medical facility it attacked in Toronto.
The SickKids teaching and research hospital was heavily impacted on 18 Dec when its IT systems were invaded, causing its phone lines, website and corporate systems to go down.
Two weeks of chaos ensued, and last week the hospital announced it had restored about half of its priority systems, including platforms which were causing diagnostic or treatment delays.
However two days later, the LockBit ransomware criminal organisation released a decryptor for the attack, saying one of its members had violated rules by attacking the healthcare facility.
"We formally apologise for the attack on sikkids.ca and give back the decryptor for free," LockBit posted on an internet security forum.
"The partner who attacked this hospital violated our rules, is blocked and is no longer in our affiliate program," LockBit said.
LockBit apparently operates as "Ransomware-as-a-Service" platform, with members using the system to breach networks, steal data and encrypt devices - subject to a range of rules including being "forbidden to encrypt institutions where damage to the files could lead to death, such as cardiology centers, neurosurgical departments, maternity hospitals and the like".
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