The website Hive was taken down in a coordinated attack by the FBI, Secret Service, and various European agencies.

This week, thanks to a coordinated effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Secret Service, and various European security agencies, one of the most infamous ransomware websites on the internet has been taken down. The website, Hive, circulated ransomware that had been used to attack over 1,300 companies around the world as of this past November, extorting millions of dollars.

Many of these attacks were conducted on healthcare facilities like hospitals, freezing systems and endangering patitents. “Hive compromised the safety and health of patients in hospitals – who are among our most vulnerable population,” said Errol Weiss, chief security officer for the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center. “When hospitals are attacked and medical systems go down, people can die.”

With the site taken down, cybersecurity experts are optimistic, though still concerned about new hacker organizations that could take Hive’s place. “The disruption of the Hive service won’t cause a serious drop in overall ransomware activity but it is a blow to a dangerous group that has endangered lives by attacking the healthcare system,” John Hultquist, a vice president at Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant, told CNN.

“Unfortunately, the criminal marketplace at the heart of the ransomware problem ensures a Hive competitor will be standing by to offer a similar service in their absence, but they may think twice before allowing their ransomware to be used to target hospitals,” Hultquist said.