US health department, several companies affected by hacking campaign

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and many other organisations were affected by a hacking campaign that exploited a flaw in file-transfer software called MOVEit. According to a report by the news agency Bloomberg late Wednesday (June 28), a health department official said the hackers gained access to data by exploiting MOVEit software used by third-party vendors.

The official added that no systems or networks of the department were compromised.

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The organisations impacted by hacking

As per the report, the organisations impacted by the hack included Ernst & Young, Honeywell, the government of Nova Scotia, the New York City Department of Education, and the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, where the names, addresses, social security numbers, and dates of birth were likely exposed for all Louisiana residents with a state-issued license.

The vulnerability allowed the hackers to steal files from these organisations that had been uploaded to MOVEit.

Full extent of breach unknown

The full extent of the breach is unknown. A person familiar with developments told Bloomberg that the incident was large-scale while another said tens of thousands of records may have been exposed.

They said the HHS believed the hackers to be from Clop- a Russian-speaking group.

Earlier in June, a US official said that several federal agencies experienced intrusions affecting their MOVEit applications. The official did not name the agencies. The report said that the US Department of Energy received ransom requests from the hackers after two of its entities fell victim to the intrusions.

What is Clop? Is it a Russian gang?

Clop is a ransomware-as-a-service gang, meaning that it hires out its software and infrastructure for other cybercriminals in return for a cut of the proceeds. It helped pioneer the practice of double extortion.

Clop's identity and location are not publicly known. But as per a report by the news agency Reuters early Thursday, the group is Russia-linked or Russian-speaking and its name could be a play on the Russian word for 'bug'.

In 2021, authorities in Ukraine announced the arrests of six people tied to the group, but it was not clear whether they were core members.

(With inputs from agencies)

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