hardFederal2023criminal
United States v. Anonymous Defendant (Ransomware Attack)
Defendant accused of deploying ransomware against small healthcare provider, encrypting patient records and demanding $500,000 in Bitcoin. Hospital operations disrupted for 10 days.
Charges
- •Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 USC § 1030)
- •Wire Fraud (18 USC § 1343)
- •Extortion (18 USC § 1951)
Case Facts
Review the established facts of this case
- 1Regional hospital with 200 beds experienced ransomware attack on March 8, 2023
- 2All patient records, scheduling systems, and medical equipment networks encrypted
- 3Ransom note demanded $500,000 in Bitcoin within 72 hours
- 4Hospital forced to divert emergency patients to other facilities
- 5FBI traced Bitcoin wallet and communications to defendant
- 6Defendant accessed hospital network through phishing email sent to employee
- 7Defendant used known ransomware variant 'LockBit 3.0'
- 8Hospital paid $300,000 ransom but only received partial decryption key
- 9FBI recovered defendant's laptop with ransomware tools and victim list
- 10Defendant targeted 12 other healthcare facilities across 6 states
- 11Total damages estimated at $4.2 million including recovery costs
- 12Defendant claims they were just testing security vulnerabilities
Your Verdict
Based on the evidence and applicable law, what is your verdict?