Bloomberg News reported that the FBI announced on August 29, 2023, that it had taken down Qakbot, a malware network known to target critical services, including healthcare entities. Qakbot was known as one of the most notorious botnets in the world.
Botnets are computer networks infected with malicious software and controlled remotely by threat actors to carry out cyberattacks. Officials estimate that Qakbot has infected 200,000 U.S. computers and 700,000 computers globally since 2008. It has been used to carry out cyberattacks on entities such as hospitals run by Prospect Medical Group and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The recent cyber attack on Prospect Medical Group resulted in the closure of emergency rooms and medical facilities across the United States.