The provincial government says a group known as Hive ransomware were responsible for the cyber attack that crippled the health care system back in October 2021.

Justice Minister John Hogan provided an update on the situation ahead of a report being tabled on the matter earlier today.

According to that report, he says the earliest evidence of attacker activity within the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information Environment, which includes the regional health authorities, can be traced back to October 15, 2021, just over two weeks before health systems started going down on October 30.

Through conversations with other entities that have gone through similar attacks, Hogan says it is not unusual for the attacker to be in the system for a while before being detected. He says part of the investigation will be to mitigate the risk of such attacks in the future, but sometimes attackers can be one step ahead of government systems.

On that note, Hogan states that last year the FBI itself was the victim of a cyber attack.

Hogan says there is no evidence to indicate that the attack was specifically intended to target the province’s healthcare system. However, government does note that Hive Ransomware are known for their “aggressive and sophisticated capabilities” and their targeting of the health care sector.

He notes that in January of this year the US Department of Justice “extinguished” that group and they are no longer a threat.

He still cannot say whether a ransom was demanded or paid.