Government officials warned that hackers were seeking to hold American hospitals’ data hostage in exchange for ransom payments.
Hundreds of American hospitals are being targeted in cyberattacks by the same Russian hackers who American officials and researchers fear could sow mayhemaround next week’s election.
The attacks on American hospitals, clinics and medical complexes are intended to take those facilities offline and hold their data hostage in exchange for multimillion-dollar ransom payments, just as coronavirus cases spike across the United States.
“We expect panic,” one hacker involved in the attacks said in Russian during a private exchange on Monday that was captured by Hold Security, a security company that tracks online criminals.
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A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 29, 2020, Section A, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: Officials Warn of Attacks on U.S. Hospitals by Russian Hackers as Covid Cases Spike.