ALPHV, a Russian hacker group nicknamed BlackCat, leaked naked photos of cancer patients stolen from Lehigh Valley Health Network after they refused to pay the ransom.
The hackers’ actions were described as an “unconscionable criminal act” by the Pennsylvania-based consortium.
On February 6, the healthcare consortium announced that unauthorized activity had been discovered on their computer networks. A month later, the hackers issued a statement claiming to have ‘been in your network for a long time’ and to have accessed patient passports, questionnaires, personal data, and ‘nude photos’.
Along with the images, “seven documents containing patient information” were posted, LVHN said.
In response, the health group “immediately launched an investigation, engaged leading cybersecurity firms and experts, and notified law enforcement.”
According to Lehigh Valley Live, the stolen information includes three screenshots of ‘clinically appropriate’ photographs of cancer patients receiving radiation oncology treatment. In addition, there were seven documents containing patient information.
Unfortunately, after the hospital refused to pay the hackers, the data was published online on the dark web.
‘Our blog is followed by a lot of global media; the case will be widely publicized, causing significant damage to your business,’ the hackers said.
‘You have a limited amount of time. We’re prepared to unleash our full force on you.’
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Russian hacker group demanded a ransom of $1.5 million or more.
‘This unconscionable criminal act takes advantage of cancer patients, and LVHN condemns this heinous behavior. ‘We will provide notices to those whose information was involved as needed,’ the company said.
The CEO of the healthcare company, Brian Nester, stated that they were “still identifying information involved in the incident.”
BlackCat, also known as ALPHV and Carbon Spider, is linked to the Russian cyber gang REvil, which is being held responsible for a global ransomware attack.
