The LockBit criminal group, author of the ransomware of the same name, has split upa rare mea culpa this weekend following the paralysis of Canada’s largest children’s hospital. The Toronto-based Hospital for Sick Children was hit on December 18 and was unable to access its critical systems. A situation that is having a devastating impact on patients and is not yet fully resolved as the hospital regains access to around 60% of its systems. Nothing really new so far.

But the specialized side Beeping computer The criminals reportedly showed remorse and offered the hospital free software to decrypt its data. The group asked one of their offshoots to whom the bridge would be broken after this attack, which would go against their values. As a reminder, LockBit indeed offers a ransomware-as-a-service service, meaning it provides technical means to partners, which then attack various targets, with LockBit receiving 20% ​​of the ransom amount back as payment.

No honor among thieves

The catch is that LockBit ransomware is commonly used against hospitals, especially in France. So the idea that their code of ethics would prohibit causing a risk of death by attacking medical facilities seems far-fetched. The South Ile-de-France Hospital Center (CHSF), a structure that brings together 27 health facilities in Essonne, was particularly hit in mid-August and after refusing to pay the ransom, the data of many patients were circulated on the Internet. .

The French government has since looked into the matter and announced so in August an additional budget of 20 million euros to strengthen hospital funding by the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (Anssi) and start at the end of December an “extensive” cyber-attack preparedness program for healthcare facilities. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.