Feds arrest alleged hospital hacker

By Giles Bruce for Becker’s Health IT

A federal grand jury has indicted an alleged member of a hacking group that tried to extort hospitals.

Deniss Zolotarjovs, 33, of Moscow, was charged in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati with conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud and Hobbs Act extortion, the Justice Department said Aug. 20. He is alleged to have been a ransom negotiator with the Karakurt cybercriminal gang.

In 2023, the group claimed to have stolen patients’ DNA records from McAlester (Okla.) Regional Health Center and threatened to auction them off. In 2022, Karakurt reportedly hacked Methodist McKinney (Texas) Hospital and two affiliated surgery centers and said it would post patients’ information on the dark web.

Mr. Zolotarjovs was arrested in the country of Georgia in December and extradited to the U.S. in August. He is the first alleged member of Karakurt to be taken into U.S. custody.