Hackers ‘steal’ health data of 68L Indians

New Delhi, August 22

In a startling revelation, US-based cyber security firm FireEye said on Thursday that China-based hackers broke into a leading Indian healthcare website, stealing 68 lakh records containing key patient and doctor information and credentials.

Without naming the portal, FireEye said cyber criminals are directly selling data stolen from healthcare organisations and web portals globally, including in India, in the underground markets for under $2,000.

“In February, a bad actor that goes by the name “fallensky519” stole 6,800,000 records associated with an India-based healthcare website that contains patient information and personally identifiable information, doctor information and PII and credentials,” FireEye said in its report.

Cyber espionage actors can leverage this data for intelligence collection purposes, to further target high-profile individuals or those who may have access to valuable information, cautioned the report.

Between October 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, FireEye Threat Intelligence observed multiple healthcare-associated databases for sale on underground forums, many for under $2,000.

According to Luke McNamara, Principal Analyst at FireEye Intelligence, healthcare-focused Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as inventory-tracking “smart” storage, remote patient monitoring and tracking systems, and remote data access devices similarly increase the theoretical attack surface for healthcare organisations.

“Compromise of these devices could be used for a variety of purposes, such as to sow confusion by creating false patient alerts, facilitate theft by changing inventory data,” McNamara said. —IANS

On sale for $2,000

US-based cyber security firm FireEye said cyber criminals are directly selling data — patient and doctor information and credentials— stolen from healthcare organisations and web portals globally, including in India, in the underground markets for under $2,000.

China is spying…

FireEye witnessed the deployment of multiple advanced persistent threats campaigns by China for:  

• Mining data linked to cancer research (Nearly 28% deaths in China are cancer related, a report said)
• Controlling healthcare costs and providing edge to domestic firms to bring new drugs to market faster than their Western competitors