Security News > 2021 > December > Alleged ransomware affiliate arrested for healthcare attacks
A 31-year old Canadian national has been charged in connection to ransomware attacks against organizations in the United States and Canada, a federal indictment unsealed today shows.
According to the indictment, between April 2018 through May 2018, Philbert targeted at least ten computers of an organization in the healthcare sector from the District of Alaska.
The defendant did not manage to deploy ransomware on the victim's computers, the indictment shows, which would have affected the "Medical examination, diagnosis, treatment and care" of multiple individuals.
Typically, ransomware is deployed in the last stage of an attack after the intruders determined what computers to encrypt.
In the U.S., Philbert is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers and one count of fraud and related activity in connection with computers.
During its investigation, the OPP received the assistance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's National Cybercrime Coordination Unit and Europol, which suggests that Philbert may have been involved in ransomware attacks outside the U.S. and Canada.
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