Healthcare management company pays ransom weeks before cybergang disrupted

PeakTPA, a company that manages the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly claims for Medicare and Medicaid users, paid a ransom to cybergang Netwalker weeks before global law enforcement officials disrupted the gang.

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PeakTPA was recently involved in a data breach that affected more than 50,000 patients after Netwalker stole records from their cloud servers.

In a breach notification provided to the California attorney general’s office, PeakTPA client Brandman Centers for Senior Care in Los Angeles said PeakTPA paid the ransom to Netwalker.

PeakTPA paid a ransom on Jan. 2 and received evidence that all information obtained was destroyed on Jan. 3, the notification said.

On Jan. 27, law enforcement officials disrupted Netwalker when they charged a suspected gang affiliate, disabled their dark web hidden resource and seized nearly $500,000 in cryptocurrency.

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