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US Healthcare Records Offered For Sale Online

Posted by msmash on from the security-woes dept.

An anonymous reader writes:Three U.S. healthcare organisations are reportedly being held to ransom by a hacker who stole data on hundreds of thousands of patients. The hacker has also put the 650,000 records up for sale on dark web markets where stolen data is traded. Prices for the different databases range from $100,000 to $411,000. Buyers have already been found for some of the stolen data, the hacker behind the theft told news site Motherboard. No information about the size of the ransom payment sought by the data thief has emerged, although he did say it was "a modest amount compared to the damage that will be caused to the organisations when I decide to publicly leak the victims."

3 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why not find and execute the hacker? by mi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can recall several reasons — all of which I've encountered here on /. over the years and they've achieved acclaim and high moderations:

    1. Information wants to be free!!
    2. The leak exposes security flaws in the organizations — and it is their CIOs, who should be executed instead. The hacker needs to be hired as the CIO of all three.
    3. The data exposes corruption and abuses at the organizations. The leaker may have broken the law, but Obama should pardon him.
    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  2. Re:Inefficient fragmentation! by wbr1 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Mi, you don't have to worry. Obama sold out to the HMOs and conservative and took single payer off the table first thing. That is why we have a confusing and expensive morass of shit to deal with for the ACA.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  3. Re:Why not find and execute the hacker? by arth1 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Can anyone give me one reason why the authorities shouldn't find the hacker and promptly execute him?

    Yeah, didn't think so...

    Short answer: Jurisdiction

    But can anyone give me one reason why the authorities shouldn't find the person responsible for implementing these insecure systems and promptly put them in a pillory?