Ransomware hits AXA units in Asia, hurts Ireland healthcare

Russian-speaking cybercriminals have hit subsidiaries of the Paris-based insurer AXA in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines with a ransomware attack

PARIS -- Cybercriminals have hit four Asian subsidiaries of the Paris-based insurance company AXA with a ransomware attack, impacting operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, the insurer said. The criminals claimed to have stolen 3 terabytes of data including medical records and communications with doctors and hospitals. In Ireland, meanwhile, the national healthcare system struggled to restore IT systems that were all but paralyzed by a cyberattack last week by a different Russian-speaking ransomware group. That group is demanding $20 million, according the ransom negotiation page on its darknet site, which The Associated Press viewed. The gang threatened Monday to “start publishing and selling your private information very soon.”