SickKids hospital faced a massive attack from the LockBit ransomware gang over the holidays, and this is now something that the ransomware-as-a-service group wants to make right. In a rare statement, LockBit issued an apology to the Canada-based pediatric hospital and even offered a decryptor to help them regain their access to systems.
This wrongful attack was blamed by the group on one of its partners who carried it out and violated the gang's rules, seeing as they have a code for their actions.
LockBit Ransomware Group Issues Apology, Free Decryptor
(Photo : SickKids)
A security researcher named Dominic Alvieri has spotted a rare sighting online, and it is from the LockBit ransomware group which recently made a statement regarding the attack against SickKids hospital.
This is a statement made by the group which claimed that they did not mean to attack the Toronto-based hospital with its ransomware, and issued an apology to the company.
In this letter, the group also went as far as to offer a free decryptor to the pediatric hospital to fix their systems easier, and have access to it.
The attack affected SickKids back on December 18, 2022, when its critical systems were affected and to diagnostic and treatment delays.
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SickKids Hospital Regained Half its Systems Earlier
Back on December 29, SickKids claimed that it has regained its footing on the incident and was able to restore 50 percent of its priority systems.
According to the hospital company, it is aware of the efforts made by the group for the decryption system that it initially offered, and it claims that there was no personal or sensitive information that was stolen or accessed during this case.
Ransomware Attacks
In terms of ransomware attacks, there has been a massive growth of its cases last 2022, and the infamous group known as LockBit went as far as to admit their wrongdoings. The ransomware-as-a-service group accounted for 40 percent of the total attacks in August last year, a massive percentage of the attacks that affected users.
The group's credibility and notoriety made it one of the most famous groups that offer their services for partners to avail if these clients want to hack or infect a certain system.
It is an internationally-known ransomware gang, with one case affecting Bangkok Airway's system and going as far as stealing partial credit card information from the company's customers.
Cyberattacks happen on a daily routine, and threat actors choose their target either due to their vendetta or when asked for their service to attack certain companies or institutions. In the case of SickKids, the group did not mean to enforce its ransomware on the company, and now offers a rare apology of a sort, and a free decryptor for their needs.
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