Hackers hold health data hostage

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.nextgov.com/health/2012/08/hackers-hold-health-data-hostage/57353/

By John Pulley
Nextgov
August 10, 2012

While identity theft is the primary concern when the security of medical 
records is compromised, a disturbing new trend is emerging: hackers 
holding the data for ransom.

A recent case involved the Surgeons of Lake County, a medical practice 
in Libertyville, Ill., where hackers were able to access electronic 
medical records and emails, Bloomberg reported today in its Tech Blog, 
citing an initial report by the privacy blog Dissent Doe. The hackers 
encrypted the records and demanded the practice pay money for a password 
to access the files, Bloomberg reported.

The practice declined to pay, shut down the server and notified 
authorities, according to Bloomberg. It was unclear from the report 
whether the practice was eventually able to access its EHR records, or 
if so, how.

Bloomberg blogger Jordan Robinson calls the case “an unsettling new 
strain of opportunism that is emerging as criminals try to exploit the 
industry’s shift to digital medical records.”

[...]