HSE warns of 'data dump' as ransom deadline passes

ireland
Hse Warns Of 'Data Dump' As Ransom Deadline Passes
Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE, and Chief Operations Officer Anne O'Connor. Image: PA
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The HSE has warned information, including patient records, may appear online following the passing of the ransom deadline set by the cyber gang responsible for the recent attack on the health services' IT systems.

The group, known as 'Wizard Spider', set Monday, May 24th as the deadline to receive the reported $20 million ransom in bitcoin, threatening to release the stolen data online if the sum was not received.

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Despite the threats, the Government and health officials repeatedly stated a ransom would not be paid.

The HSE is worried the data may now appear online, however, chief operations officer Anne O'Connor said they will have to wait and see.

"We will be watching today to see what happens. We know that people have had concerns over the past week and people have received calls, either with actual information about them, or people claiming to have information," Ms O'Connor told Newstalk.

"We will be watching to see if information appears anywhere on the web, and that's something that has been threatened. It may happen, and if it does, we will have to see what action we can take," she added.

Last week, the HSE also secured an injunction from the High Court, making it a criminal act to "reveal any data that has been illegally obtained or has been stolen from the HSE system," according to Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

He added the injunction puts Internet companies such as Google and Twitter on notice regarding the sharing and publication of the information, making sure "any data that is inadvertently put up will be taken down immediately".

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