Russian hacker group threatens to shut down ventilators in UK hospital over arrest of one of its members

A hacking group allegedly linked to Russian government is threatening to disrupt the proper functioning of ventilators in British hospitals after one of its alleged leaders was arrested by UK authorities. This alleged cybercriminal, part of the Killnet group, was reportedly arrested on Monday in London after a massive attack on government websites in Ukraine.

Faced with this, the rest of the members of Killnet began to demand the release of their leader, threatening the deployment of massive cyberattacks against various hospitals in the United Kingdom if their demands were not met. The British authorities continue to analyze the situation, although informants and investigators with sources in the cybercriminal world assure that these threats are credible and must be taken seriously.

About the leader of Killnet, cybersecurity specialists believe that he is a hacker sponsored by the Russian government, allegedly in charge of some cyberwarfare operations related to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The hacker was arrested in London during a raid by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Romanian Police.

The Putin fan was arrested as the prime suspect in orchestrating the Killnet attacks, detected just a few days ago and believed to be retaliation for the open support expressed for Ukraine. Killnet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which led to the disconnection of multiple websites in Romania, including the official platforms of the Ministry of Defense, political parties and cultural organizations.

Although the group has openly declared itself responsible for the attack, they say that the arrested individual had nothing to do with this operation, so they demand that the British authorities be released immediately or they will face the consequences.

To learn more about information security risks, malware variants, vulnerabilities and information technologies, feel free to access the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) websites.