News Details

Phishing Campaign Targets African Banks with Spoofed Login Pages

A newly emerged ransomware group known as “Dire Wolf” has launched a wave of attacks against healthcare institutions in West Africa, forcing several hospitals and clinics to halt operations. The malware, first identified in May 2025, encrypts entire systems and deletes backups before delivering ransom demands ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 in cryptocurrency.

The attacks have crippled patient record systems, delayed emergency services, and disrupted vital equipment operations. Incident responders noted that “Dire Wolf” leverages phishing emails and exploits outdated remote access tools to gain initial access.

Solution & Recommendations:

Healthcare facilities should immediately:

• Isolate affected networks and engage incident response teams.
• Notify national CSIRTs and law enforcement before considering any ransom payments.
• Conduct regular backups, stored offline or in immutable storage.
• Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to monitor for unusual activity.
• Enforce strict access controls and patch outdated software, especially VPNs and RDP services.

Organizations must treat phishing as a business risk—not just an IT problem. Collaboration between IT, security, customer service, and communications teams is vital to protect against these evolving social engineering threats.