DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

AU: Medical center receives ransom demand to unlock patient files

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Dissent

Stephanie Bedo reports on that a medical center’s worst nightmare has occurred. From Goldcoast:

A Gold Coast medical centre is being held to ransom by an international computer hacker who wants $4000 to unlock thousands of patient files.

The Miami Family Medical Centre has been without the patient files for more than a week after its computer system was hacked and all the patient files encrypted with a military-grade encryption program.

It gets worse, but what struck me is that they’ve had similar situations in that area in this past year:

It is the latest in a string of 11 similar medical extortion cases that have taken place across the state this year.

I’m not finding any other such stories on their site or in a Google search. I’d love to know more about these other cases.

And here’s how a bad situation becomes worse:

Dr Munira Butt said the system was hit over a weekend, with the hackers then sending emails from an untraceable overseas account demanding $4000 if the business wanted to get the records back.

“They’ve corrupted all our back-up discs too,” Dr Butt said.

“They have hacked us really well because they’ve been in and disabled quite a number of programs.

“That’s seven years worth of data missing or gone.”

Without the clinical files, doctors are effectively blind when treating patients as they have no access to patient history, known allergies, blood test results, blood pressure readings or even cancer results.

So what the heck are the police doing to help? Nothing, reportedly:

She has refused to give in but has had no success getting help from police so far.

Dr Butt said she spent all of last week contacting cybercrime squads within the Australian Federal Police and has left several messages but no one has responded to her or investigated the case.

An AFP spokeswoman said the scam was an issue for the police.

“I’ve contacted all the e-crime squads and no one’s getting back to me,” Dr Butt said.

Read more on GoldCoast.com.au


Related:

  • Two more entities have folded after ransomware attacks
  • Data breach feared after cyberattack on AMEOS hospitals in Germany
  • Premier Health Partners issues a press release about a breach two years ago. Why was this needed now?
  • Theft from Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital sparks probe
  • North Country Healthcare responds to Stormous's claims of a breach
  • Texas Enacts Electronic Health Record Data Localization Law
Category: Health Data

Post navigation

← #OpIsrael Attack Updates 20+ further sites hacked
100 Sites defaced by @UGBrazil →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Scattered Spider Hijacks VMware ESXi to Deploy Ransomware on Critical U.S. Infrastructure
  • Hacker group “Silent Crow” claims responsibility for cyberattack on Russia’s Aeroflot
  • AIIMS ORBO Portal Vulnerability Exposing Sensitive Organ Donor Data Discovered by Researcher
  • Two Data Breaches in Three Years: McKenzie Health
  • Scattered Spider is running a VMware ESXi hacking spree
  • BreachForums — the one that went offline in April — reappears with a new founder/owner
  • Fans React After NASCAR Confirms Ransomware Breach
  • Allianz Life says ‘majority’ of customers’ personal data stolen in cyberattack (1)
  • Infinite Services notifying employees and patients of limited ransomware attack
  • The safe place for women to talk wasn’t so safe: hackers leak 13,000 user photos and IDs from the Tea app

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Congress tries to outlaw AI that jacks up prices based on what it knows about you
  • Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature is now blocked by Brave and AdGuard
  • Trump Administration Issues AI Action Plan and Series of AI Executive Orders
  • Indonesia asked to reassess data privacy terms in new U.S. trade deal
  • Meta Denies Tracking Menstrual Data in Flo Health Privacy Trial
  • Wikipedia seeks to shield contributors from UK law targeting online anonymity
  • British government reportedlu set to back down on secret iCloud backdoor after US pressure

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.