The FBI was able to help thwart the hackers before damaging the hospital’s computer network, according to Ray, but he cited it as an example of the potential hacking threats facing the United States from the governments of Iran, Russia, China and North Korea.
“We cannot give up China or Iran or criminal unions while we are focused on Russia,” Ray said in a speech at Boston College.
The hacking, which occurred in June 2021, prompted attackers to use popular software made by California-based firm Fortinet to monitor the hospital’s computer network, according to US officials.
It is not clear what the attackers’ ultimate goals were. Boston Children’s Hospital is a facility with more than 400 beds and is considered one of the leading pediatric centers in the United States.
Earlier, Ray said in March that hackers linked to the Iranian government were behind a cyber attack on a children’s hospital, but he did not name the hospital.
CNN requested comment from the hospital and Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations.
The incident was one of several that sparked a public warning last November from the FBI and other agencies that hackers backed by the Iranian government were targeting a number of organizations in the transportation and healthcare sectors.
It was a rare case that the US government publicly linked Iran to ransom software commonly used by cybercriminals rather than governments. But US officials and private analysts have long warned of a secret agreement between foreign governments and criminal hacker groups.
When it comes to potential Russian hacker threats to the United States, the FBI is at a “combat pace” with a 24-hour command post during the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, Ray added.
“We have seen the Russian government take concrete preparatory steps towards potentially destructive action [cyber]attacks, both here and abroad, “he added.
Such a “destructive” hack – which destroys data or systems – has not been reported in the United States since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But suspected Russian hackers have committed numerous destructive hacks in Ukraine, and US officials are warning businesses not to be vigilant.
The same access to the network obtained by Russian intelligence operatives could be used as a destructive hack, Ray warned. “That is why, when it comes to Russia today, we are focused on acting as early as possible – as far as ‘left of the boom’, as they say – as much as we can.”
“We are watching their cyber activities become more destructive as the war continues to go bad for them,” Ray said Wednesday.
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