Montana News
Planned Parenthood of Montana target of ransomware attack
With Montana News, I'm Eleanor Smith. Planned Parenthood of Montana says it discovered a data breach last week. Montana Public Radio's Erin Bolton reports the attackers may have already posted some info online. Planned Parenthood President Martha Fuller says the attack was discovered on August 28th. She says her team immediately took security measures to mitigate the damage. Fuller says they are investigating what information may have been taken. The attackers are known as Ransom Hub. And federal officials have warned that the group is targeting health care facilities. Planned Parenthood is aware that the group posted a file online, allegedly containing data it took from the nonprofit. Coastal Metah with Sible, a cyber threat intelligence and research firm, says Ransom Hub is a financially motivated group. The ransomware groups are interested in selling this data or extorting a ransom from the group to prevent them from suffering reputation damage. Other abortion providers have been victims of cyber attacks, including Planned Parenthood, LA and the organization's national website. Cybersecurity experts say these attacks can be both politically and financially motivated. They worry that patients can suffer legal consequences if they live in states where abortion is criminalized, or suffer personal attacks if their data is sold or released by attackers. In Colombia Falls, I'm Erin Bolton.