The World Health Organization and about 50 countries issued a warning on Friday at the United Nations about the rise in malicious ransomware attacks targeting hospitals, while the United States held Russia responsible for these attacks.
Ransomware is a type of digital blackmail in which hackers encrypt the data of victims, individuals, companies, or institutions, and demand a financial ransom to release it.
The Director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a speech before the UN Security Council during a session called by the United States on Friday that such attacks on hospitals “could be a matter of life or death.”
“Statistics showed that attacks on the healthcare sector have increased in size and frequency,” Ghebreyesus said, stressing 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 signed by more than 50 countries, including South Korea, Ukraine, Japan, Argentina, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, included a similar warning.
The statement, shared by US Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger, said: “These attacks pose direct threats to public safety, endanger human lives by delaying critical health services, cause significant economic harm, and could constitute a threat to international peace and security.”
The statement also condemned countries that “knowingly” allow those responsible for ransomware attacks to operate from their territories.
At the meeting, Neuberger directly criticized Moscow, saying, “Countries, most notably Russia, continue to allow ransomware perpetrators to operate from their territories with impunity.”
France and South Korea also pointed the finger at North Korea.
Russia defended itself, saying that the Security Council is not the appropriate forum to address cybercrimes.
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia said, “We believe that today’s meeting cannot be considered a reasonable use of the Council’s time and resources.”
He added, “If our Western colleagues want to discuss the security of health facilities, they must agree in the Security Council on specific steps to stop the horrific attacks launched by Israel on hospitals in the Gaza Strip.”