British Healthcare Provider Investigating Ransom Claims

The British National Health Service (NHS) private service provider, the HCRG Care Group, has confirmed that it is investigating a suspected ransomware attack. 

HCRG Care Group, formerly Virgin Care, runs child and family health and social services for the NHS, delivering a wide range of community services, while employing more than 1,300 NHS staff.

Now, HCRG has said it is investigating claims by the  Medusa a ransomware group, which has claimed that it has stolen  more than two terabytes of sensitive information and is threatening to leak confidential internal records, unless a substantial ransom is paid.

The Medusa gang’s Dark Web site claims the group has stolen 2.275TB of data, and the information is for sale for £1.6 million ($2 million), or offering to delete data for the same amount. They then threatened to leak the information online if the ransom isn’t paid by February 27.

Samples of the stolen data have been leaked, and of the 35 pages posted, the information seems to be passport and driving license scans, birth certificates, background checks, and staff rotas. These could put those affected at risk of identity theft, fraud, or social engineering scams.

HCRG has said in a statement that it is looking into these claims made by Medusa that it has breached and stolen sensitive information. A spokesperson for HCRG group said: “We can confirm that we are currently investigating an IT security incident and have recently identified a post on the Dark Web by a group claiming responsibility... Our team has not observed any suspicious activity since the implementation of immediate containment measures, and we are working with external forensic specialists to investigate the incident...

.. Our services are continuing to operate and safely see patients, and those with appointments or who need to access our services should continue to do so.”

In compliance with UK rules, HCRG has informed the Information Commissioner's Office and relevant law enforcement agencies of the breach.

Digital Health     |     BBC     |     The Register     |     Tech Radar  |    Computing     |     MSN

Image: @HCRGCareGroup

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