Hospitals across the U.S. received email bomb threats on Dec. 13 as part of a large-scale extortion attempt, according to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website.
Hospitals as well as businesses, schools and libraries across the U.S. and Canada received emails claiming a bomb was hidden in their facilities. The emails demanded a $20,000 bitcoin payment to prevent detonation.
Many of the hospitals affected were small rural hospitals, including the 25-bed Hayward (Wis.) Area Memorial Hospital & Water’s Edge.
The hospital did not evacuate, but it did cancel scheduled appointments, close its urgent care facility and clinics, and send some staff home.
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