Threats to post them on-line unless if no money is forthcoming

This stark example of how medical electronic records are vulnerable to violations of privacy comes from Lithuania. Hackers stole 25,000 photographs plus passport and credit card details from the Grozio Chirurgija cosmetic surgery clinic and then threatened to post them online unless they were paid.

The hackers, who call themselves the “Tsar Team” posted the images and personal information on a Dark Web website and are selling them for between €50 and €2,000 each or for €344,000 for the whole package.

“Clients, of course, are in shock. Once again, I would like to apologise,” Jonas Staikunas, the director of Grozio Chirurgija, told local media. “Cybercriminals are blackmailers. They are blackmailing our clients with inappropriate text messages.” 

This attack is much more targeted and professional than the Wannacry ransomware virus last month. The hackers took the trouble to scale the amount of the ransom according to individual patients. Clients from Denmark, Germany, Norway and the UK have already received extortion notices. 

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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