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The Department of Justice Feb. 10 charges for Roman Berezhnoy and Egor Nikolaevich Glebov, Russian nationals alleged to be leaders of a ransomware group operating under the names “8Base” and “Affiliate 2803,” among others. The group is an affiliate of the Phobos ransomware group and carried out cyberattacks from May 2019 through at least October 2024, according to the DOJ. Their victims include a children's hospital and other health care providers, along with educational institutions.   

The DOJ announcement preceded one by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Feb. 11 on the U.S., U.K. and Australia , a Russia-based bulletproof hosting services provider, for its role in supporting LockBit ransomware attacks.    

“The charges against the Russian leaders of the Phobos ransomware gang and the sanctions against Zservers should be applauded,” said John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “These notorious ransomware groups have been directly implicated in highly disruptive ransomware attacks against hospitals, resulting in a risk to patient and community safety. Continued disruption operations by the U.S. government combined with cyberthreat intelligence sharing with the health care field will enhance our cyber defensive measures while increasing risk and consequences for the perpetrators.”   

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact Riggi at jriggi@aha.org. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.