The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) issued an analysis of the pro-Russian hacktivist group KillNet.
The agency concluded that KillNet targets geopolitical enemies of Russia, particularly NATO countries supportive of Ukraine. In January, the group pulled off a series of coordinated distributed denial-of-service attacks targeting public health organizations.
Of the health systems KillNet attacked, more than half were health systems with at least one hospital or lone hospitals with level 1 trauma centers, according to an April 5 HC3 news release.
"Behaving in a more reactionary manner, the group of hactivists often times appear to work in an emotional way, seeking revenge and retaliation against anything perceived as anti-Russia or pro-Ukraine, given the current conflict between the two powers," the report said. "While KillNet has been criticized on some forums for perceiving to be seeking cooperation from Russian security services, any ties to official Russian government organizations such as the Federal Security Service (FSB) or the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) remain unconfirmed.