BlackCat Ransomware Strikes Henry Schein Again, Causes Business Disruption

American healthcare giant, Henry Schein, disclosed that it was again restoring its systems after suffering a second cyberattack by the BlackCat/AlphV ransomware gang. Earlier, in October 2023, the gang breached its network, allegedly stealing 35TB of sensitive data.

On October 15, it first revealed the cybersecurity incident that had temporarily disrupted some of its business operations.

A few weeks after the announcement, the notorious BlackCat/AlphV ransomware gang took credit for the attack. In their post, they claimed to have re-encrypted Henry Schein’s system, while the latter was on verge of completely restoring it.

The stalled negotiations were blamed for the subsequent attacks. “Despite ongoing discussions with Henry’s team, we have not received any indication of their willingness to prioritize the security of their clients, partners, and employees, let alone protect their own network,” the post read.

The gang also threatened to release a portion of the stolen data related to internal payroll and shareholder folders, on its leak site.

Post this, the company in a letter to customers and suppliers warned about a possible data breach, wherein bank account numbers, credit card details and other sensitive information might have been compromised.

Following this, on November 22, Henry Schein again issued a public statement disclosing another BlackCat cyberattack. ‘’Certain Henry Schein applications, including its ecommerce platform, are currently unavailable. The Company continues to take orders using alternate means and continues to ship to its customers,” the statement said.

It also assured customers that it’s using alternative channels to book customer orders.

In a further update, Henry Schein revealed that its US ecommerce platform has resumed operations, and it’s expecting the Canada and Europe platforms to be online shortly.