A criminal claiming to be an ALPHV/BlackCat affiliate — the gang responsible for the widely disruptive Change Healthcare ransomware infection last month — may have ties to Chinese government-backed cybercrime syndicates.
Menlo Security this week linked Beijing to the cyberattack, which essentially left pharmacies across America unable to look up and process people's health insurance, forcing patients to pay out of pocket for life-saving medication or go without these essential prescriptions.
The criminals were able to bag a $22 million payment in Bitcoin, reportedly a ransom paid by Change's parent US healthcare giant UnitedHealth.
A miscreant who goes by "Notchy" claims to be the ALPHV affiliate behind that February 21 intrusion that disrupted thousands of American pharmacies and hospitals.
"Some of our HUMINT sources with direct contact to Notchy says it's high probability that Notchy is associated with China Nation-State groups," Menlo's threat intel team said in a report Wednesday.
The infosec outfit analyzed discussions on Ramp, a dark-web forum that charges a $500 entry fee or requires admin approval. The report includes a screenshot from Ramp user Notchy claiming to be the affiliate responsible for the Change ransomware attack. According to Notchy — and take this for what it is: the words of a criminal — Change coughed up the multi-million-dollar ransom and ALPHV made off with the entire amount.
From its Ramp analysis, Menlo researchers were able to pull a Telegram ..
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