Ransomware Attackers Add Swatting to their Arsenal of Threats

Ransomware attackers have expanded their blackmail toolbox and no longer rely solely on blocking critical systems and threatening to release stolen data. Some attackers are now resorting to swatting threats against victims, adding yet another threat to the menace of ransomware.

Until a few years ago, ransomware attacks were all about locking people and companies out of their systems. The attackers would then ask for money in exchange for the keys to unlock them. Eventually, criminals figured out that, as long they had access to deploy ransomware, they could also steal data and use that as leverage as well.

Ransomware is now going through another step in its evolution as criminal have begun threatening victims with swatting. In a swatting incident, law enforcement is sent to the victim’s home under false pretenses; they’re usually told that someone armed and dangerous is at the address. Sometimes, the result of swatting is the death of innocent people at the hands of law enforcement.

“Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center was aware of cyber criminals issuing swatting threats and immediately notified the FBI and Seattle police, who notified the local police,” said a spokesperson to The Register. “The FBI, as part of its investigation into the cybersecurity incident, also investigated these threats.

Back in November 2023, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center was the target of an attack, as criminals accessed the clinical network and obtained patient information. Now, criminals have resorted to threaten patients with swatting , which takes a cybersecurity incident and elevates to another level with much more serious consequences.

This is not the first time criminals have gone after after patients or client of companies. A couple of years ago, ransomware operators began threatening the clients of breached law firms with the release of sealed documents.