WHO, 50 countries warn United Nations of increasing ransomware attacks against hospitals

Ransomware is a type of digital blackmail. Photograph used for representational purposes only
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The World Health Organization and some 50 countries issued a warning on Friday, November 8, 2024 at the United Nations about the rise of ransomware attacks against hospitals, with the United States specifically blaming Russia.

Ransomware is a type of digital blackmail in which hackers encrypt the data of victims — individuals, companies or institutions — and demand money as a “ransom” in order to restore it.

Such attacks on hospitals “can be issues of life and death,” according to WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who addressed the U.N. Security Council during a meeting called by the United States.

“Surveys have shown that attacks on the healthcare sector have increased in both scale and frequency,” Ghebreyesus said, emphasising the importance of international cooperation to combat them. “Cybercrime, including ransomware, poses a serious threat to international security,” he added, calling on the Security Council to consider it as such.

A joint statement co-signed by over 50 countries — including South Korea, Ukraine, Japan, Argentina, France, Germany and the United Kingdom — offered a similar warning. “These attacks pose direct threats to public safety and endanger human lives by delaying critical healthcare services, cause significant economic harm, and can pose a threat to international peace and security,” read the statement, shared by U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger.

The statement also condemned nations which “knowingly” allow those responsible for ransomware attacks to operate from.

At the meeting, Neuberger directly called out Moscow, saying: “Some states — most notably Russia — continue to allow ransomware actors to operate from their territory with impunity.” France and South Korea also pointed the finger at North Korea.

Russia defended itself by claiming the Security Council was not the appropriate forum to address cybercrime. “We believe that today’s meeting can hardly be deemed a reasonable use of the Council’s time and resources,” said Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia. “If our Western colleagues wish to discuss the security of healthcare facilities,” he continued, “they should agree in the Security Council upon specific steps to stop the horrific… attacks by Israel on hospitals in the Gaza Strip.”