Hackers threaten to release Irish patient data next week

A general view of the Naas General Hospital in County Kildare, Dublin. Last week, Ireland’s hospitals were forced to shut down many of their computers after the hackers gained access to the health service’s systems, encrypted patient data so that it was inaccessible and demanded a payment to unlock the files. — AP

Hackers who targeted Ireland’s health service are threatening to imminently release or sell patient data in an effort to pressure the government agency to pay a US$20mil (RM82.92mil) ransom.

In an online message sent on Wednesday and reviewed by Bloomberg News, the hackers told representatives of the country’s Health Service Executive that if they couldn’t reach an agreement soon, “we will start to sell and publish your data” on May 24. Previously they had threatened to release the data “very soon”.