Researchers found they were able to infect robots with ransomware ; in the real world , such attacks could be highly damaging to businesses if robotic security is n't addressed . Ransomware has long been a headache for PC and smartphone users , but in the future , it could be robots that stop working unless a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . Researchers at security company IOActive have shown how they managed to hack the humanoid NAO robot made by Softbank and infect one with custom-built ransomware . The researchers said the same attack would work on the Pepper robot too . After the infection , the robot is shown insulting its audience and demanding Attack.Ransom to be 'fed ' bitcoin cryptocurrency in order to restore systems back to normal . While a tiny robot making threats might initially seem amusing -- if a little creepy -- the proof-of-concept attack demonstrates the risks associated with a lack of security in robots and how organisations that employ robots could suddenly see parts of their business grind to a halt should they become a victim of ransomware . `` In order to get a business owner to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to a hacker , you could make robots stop working . And , because the robots are directly tied to production and services , when they stop working they 'll cause a financial problem for the owner , losing money every second they 're not working , '' Cesar Cerrudo , CTO at IOActive Labs , told ZDNet . Taking what was learned in previous studies into the security vulnerabilities of robots , researchers were able to inject and run code in Pepper and NAO robots and take complete control of the systems , giving them the option to shut the robot down or modify its actions . The researchers said it was possible for an attacker with access to the Wi-Fi network the robot is running on to inject malicious code into the machine . `` The attack can come from a computer or other device that is connected to internet , so a computer gets hacked , and from there , the robot can be hacked since it 's in the same network as the hacked computer , '' said Cerrudo , who conducted the research alongside Lucas Apa , Senior Security Consultant at IOActive . Unlike computers , robots do n't yet store vast amounts of valuable information that the user might be willing to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to retrieve . But , as companies often do n't have backups to restore systems from , if a robot becomes infected with ransomware , it 's almost impossible for the user to restore it to normal by themselves . If the alternative for a victim of robot ransomware is waiting for a technician to come to fix the robot -- or even losing access it to weeks if it needs to be returned to the manufacturer -- a business owner might view giving into the ransom demand Attack.Ransom as a lesser evil . `` If it 's one robot then it could take less time , but if there are dozens or more , every second they are n't working , the business is losing money . Keeping this in mind , shipping lots of robots takes a lot of time , so the financial impact is bigger when you have a computer compromised with ransomware , '' said Cerrudo . While the robot ransomware infections have been done for the purposes of research -- and presented at the 2018 Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit in Cancun , Mexico -- IOActive warn that if security in robotics is n't properly addressed now , there could be big risks in the near future . `` While we do n't see robots every day , they 're going mainstream soon , businesses worldwide are deploying robots for different services . If we do n't start making robots secure now , if more get out there which are easily hacked , there are very serious consequences , '' said Cerrudo . As with security vulnerabilities the Internet of Things and other products , the solution to this issue is for robotics manufacturers to think about cybersecurity at every step of the manufacturing process from day one . IOActive informed Softbank about the research in January but Cerrudo said : `` We do n't know if they [ Softbank ] are going to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issues and when , or even if they can fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issues with the current design . '' Responding to the IOActive research , a Softbank spokesperson told ZDNet : `` We will continue to improve our security measures on Pepper , so we can counter any risks we may face . ''

GREENFIELD — Hancock Health fell victim to a cyber attack Attack.Ransom Thursday , with a hacker demanding Bitcoin Attack.Ransom to relinquish control of part of the hospital ’ s computer system . Employees knew something was wrong Thursday night , when the network began running more slowly than normal , senior vice president/chief strategy and innovation officer Rob Matt said . A short time later , a message flashed on a hospital computer screen , stating parts of the system would be held hostage until a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . The hacker asked for Bitcoin Attack.Ransom — a virtual currency used to make anonymous transactions that is nearly impossible to trace . The hospital ’ s IT team opted to immediately shut down the network to isolate the problem . The attack affected Hancock Health ’ s entire health network , including its physician offices and wellness centers . Friday afternoon , Hancock Health CEO Steve Long confirmed the network was targeted by a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom from an unnamed hacker who “ attempted to shut down ( Hancock Health ’ s ) operations. ” Hospital leaders don ’ t believe any personal medical information has been compromised Attack.Databreach , Long said . Long declined to disclose details of the attack Attack.Ransom , including how much ransom has been requested Attack.Ransom . The attack amounts to a “ digital padlock , ” restricting personnel access to parts of the health network ’ s computer systems , he said . The attack was not the result of an employee opening a malware-infected email , a common tactic used to hack computer systems , he said . The attack was sophisticated , he said , adding FBI officials are familiar with this method of security breach . “ This was not a 15-year-old kid sitting in his mother ’ s basement , ” Long said . Protecting patients Notices posted Friday at entrances to Hancock Regional Hospital alerted visitors to a “ system-wide outage ” and asked any hospital employee or office using a HRH network to ensure all computers were turned off . Doctors and nurses have reverted to using pen and paper for now to keep patients ’ medical charts updated . Long said he wasn ’ t aware of any appointments or procedures that were canceled directly related to the incident , adding Friday ’ s snowy weather contributed to many cancellations . Most patients likely didn ’ t notice there was a problem , nor did the attack significantly impact patient care , Long said . Hospital staff members worked with the FBI and a national IT security company overnight and throughout the day Friday to resolve the issue . Long said law enforcement has been acting in an “ advisory capacity , ” and declined to release details about the plan going forward , including whether the hospital is considering paying the ransom Attack.Ransom . Long commended his staff , especially IT workers , who quickly identified the problem Thursday evening . “ If I was going through this with anybody , this is the team I would want to go through this with because I know what the outcome is going to be , ” he said . Leaders updated hospital employees , totaling about 1,200 people , throughout the day Friday and took steps to be accommodate both patients and staff , including offering free food in the hospital cafeteria all day , Long said . Long said if there is any suggestion private patient information has been compromised Attack.Databreach , hospital officials will reach out to those affected , though he doesn ’ t expect that to become an issue . “ We anticipate questions , ” he said . “ This is not a small deal . ”

The Cyber Cell of Navi Mumbai police is investigating the case , DCP Doshi said . `` We are trying to ascertain the Internet Protocol Address ( IP ) from where the email ( demanding ransom Attack.Ransom ) originated , '' Doshi said Computer systems of a private hospital in Navi Mumbai have come under a malware attack , with attackers seeking ransom Attack.Ransom in Bitcoins , police today said . The cyber attack Attack.Ransom on the computer systems of Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital came to light on July 15 , police said . Hospital administrators found the systems locked , with an encrypted message by unidentified attackers demanding ransom Attack.Ransom in Bitcoins to unlock it , said Tushar Doshi , Deputy Commissioner of Police ( Crime ) . Authorities found that access to the data of the previous 15 days had been blocked . Such attacks are described as ` ransomware' attacks Attack.Ransom , where a malicious software enters the victim 's computer system , and the attackers threaten to publish the data or block access to it unless a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . The Cyber Cell of Navi Mumbai police is investigating the case , DCP Doshi said . `` We are trying to ascertain the Internet Protocol Address ( IP ) from where the email ( demanding ransom Attack.Ransom ) originated , '' Doshi said . Computerised billing and medicine prescription system were affected due to the malware attack , but the hospital maintains a written record of all its data , he said . Cyber experts were trying to get the system back on track , the DCP said . A case under section 43 ( hacking ) of the Information Technology Act has been registered with the Vashi Police Station . Among the recent cyber attacks of this kind , the ` WannaCry ransomware attack Attack.Ransom ' of May 2017 infected more than 2,30,000 computers across 150 countries .

Security researchers report a massive uptick in the number of MongoDB databases hijacked and held for ransom Attack.Ransom . That ’ s sharp increase from last week when 2,000 MongoDB had been hijacked by two or three criminals . A wave attacks was first spotted on Dec. 27 by Victor Gevers , an ethical hacker and founder of GDI Foundation . That ’ s when he said a hacker going by the handle “ Harak1r1 ” was compromising open MongoDB installations , deleting their contents , and leaving behind a ransom note demanding Attack.Ransom 0.2 BTC ( about $ 220 ) . Victims would discover they were hit with the data theft only when they accessed the MongoDB and came across a top database field with the ransom demand Attack.Ransom that read , “ Contact this email with your IP of your server to recover your database ” . Escalation of the attacks happened fast jumping from 200 14 days ago to 2,000 the following week . On Friday the numbers were at 10,000 , and by Monday Merrigan said there was a huge spike in attacks via his Twitter account reporting 27,000 servers compromised representing 93 terabytes of data gone . Since identifying “ Harak1r1 ” as the original attacker , they say more than a dozen additional hackers are now actively targeting MongoDB installations as well . Researchers said that in many cases , data stored in the MongoDB now is simply being destroyed and when victims pay the ransom Attack.Ransom they do not receive their data back . Last week , Gevers told Threatpost attackers were battling among themselves . He said , when one hacker would leave Attack.Ransom a ransom note , another hacker would target the same database , delete the original ransom note and leave their own Attack.Ransom . This further complicates a victim ’ s ability to retrieve data even if a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , he said .

It ’ s safe to say that 2016 was the year of ransomware . More specifically , the year of crypto-ransomware , that nefarious variant that encrypts files and holds them captive until a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . Since the release of Cryptolocker in late 2013 , crypto-ransomware has exploded , and 2016 was a banner year . As a matter of fact , according to the FBI , cyber criminals used ransomware to steal Attack.Ransom more than $ 209 million from U.S. businesses in just the first quarter of 2016 . And according to a recent report from Kaspersky Labs , from January to September of 2016 , ransomware attacks targeting companies increased by a whopping 300 percent . With threat actors realizing ransomware ’ s lucrative potential , they bombarded the industry with new attacks in 2016 . This variant hit the wild in early 2016 , infecting systems using AES encryption . It not only infects mapped file shares , but any networked share , so remote drives are at risk . This attack was so potent experts estimate it infected more than 100,000 victims per day at its peak . More recently , hackers went after the beloved San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency ( MUNI ) . If you were in the area in late November , you may have gotten the message “ You Hacked ” at public transit ticket kiosks . The city ’ s light rail was hit by ransomware that forced them to offer Attack.Ransom free rides for two days while they recovered the files . Or , what about Popcorn , the ingenious little in-development ransomware variant in December that turned victims into attackers by incentivizing them with a pyramid scheme-style discount . Send the infection to two of your friends , and you get your files back for free . Ransomware perhaps hit Attack.Ransom healthcare the hardest in 2016 , with some reports claiming 88 percent of all ransomware affected hospitals . Whether large or small , no provider could hide from hackers looking to nab and encrypt patient data , disrupting care until the provider paid up Attack.Ransom or recovered files . The New Jersey Spine Center and Marin Healthcare District were attacked Attack.Ransom by Cryptowall , which encrypted electronic health records , backup files and the phone system . MedStar , which operates 10 hospitals in the D.C and Baltimore area , was forced to shut down its entire IT system and revert to paper records . And the list goes on and on with names like California ’ s Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center , The University of Southern California ’ s Keck and Norris Hospital , Kansas Heart Hospital , Alvarado Medical Center , King ’ s Daughter ’ s Health , Chino Valley Medical Center and Desert Valley Hospital , and more . Criminals have obviously realized the awesome money-making potential of ransomware , and you should expect them to double-down in 2017 . That said , how can they make an already effective threat even more widespread ? Every year I try to predict changes and evolutions to the threat and security landscape . In this year ’ s predictions , I forecast that you ’ ll see the first ever , wide-spread ransomworm . This new variant will dramatically accelerate the spread of ransomware . Years ago , network worms like CodeRed , SQL Slammer , and more recently , Conficker were pretty common . As you probably know , a worm is a type of malware that automatically spreads itself over a network , using either legitimate network file sharing features , or network software vulnerabilities . In the past , the fastest spreading worms – like the examples mentioned above – exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability network software flaws to automatically propagate through networks ( whether the Internet or just your internal network ) . Although we haven ’ t seen many wildly successful network worms lately , they ’ re still a threat . All it takes is for one black hat to find Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a new zero-day networking software flaw and wide-spread ransomworm becomes a real possibility . In fact , attackers may not even need to know a new networking flaw to create a successful ransomware . By stealing Attack.Databreach a computer ’ s local credentials , attackers can use normal Windows networking , or tools like Powershell to spread through an internal Windows network without leveraging any vulnerability at all . Now , imagine ransomware attached to such a network worm . After infecting one victim , it could tirelessly copy itself to every computer it could reach on your local network . Whether or not you want to imagine such a scenario , criminals have already added network-scanning capabilities to some ransomware variants , and there ’ s a high likelihood they will more aggressively merge ransomware and worm capabilities next year . In 2017 , I suspect you ’ ll see a ransomworm that automatically spreads very quickly and successfully , at least on local networks , if not the Internet . Since falling victim to ransomware can be a costly and time-consuming affair , how can you prepare to combat these evolving threats ? Backup – Sure , I know most people just want to prevent ransomware , but you ’ ll never have 100 percent assurances of that in information security . Backing up your data is an important part of security for reasons far beyond just recovering from a ransomware attack . If you don ’ t already backup your important data , ransomware is the best reason yet to do so . Patch your software – There are many ways ransomware might get on your systems , including just users manually doing foolish things . However , in order to forcefully or automatically install malware on your system , attackers must exploit software flaws . That said , vendors have already fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a huge percent of the vulnerabilities hackers use to spread malware . If you simply keep your patches up to date Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , you won ’ t succumb to many of these forced or automated attacks , which could even help against ransomworms , assuming the network flaw they used was also patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Implement Killchain Defense – You won ’ t find one security technology that can protect you from 100 percent of ransomware by itself . However , there are many security controls that help protect you from various stages of a ransomware attack . For instance , Intrusion Prevention Systems ( IPS ) can prevent some of the exploits criminals use to spread ransomware . AntiVirus can catch some of the most common ransomware variants , and more modern advanced threat protection solutions can even identify and block new zero-day ransomware samples . However , none of these defenses are fool proof alone . The best way to protect your computer or organization is to combine all of them . Unified Threat Management ( UTM ) solutions often offer the easiest option for placing all these protections under one pane of glass