AIIMS Ransomware Attack: Hackers Demand Rs 200 Crore In Cryptocurrency

NEW DELHI: Hackers allegedly demanded an estimated Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, as its server remained inoperable for the sixth day in a row, according to official sources on Monday.

It is feared that the data of between 3 and 4 billion patients may have been compromised as a result of the attack.

As the server remained out, patient care services in the emergency, outpatient, inpatient, and laboratory wings were managed manually, according to sources.

The India Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), the Delhi Police, and the Ministry of Home Affairs are conducting an investigation into the ransomware attack.

On November 25, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police registered a case of extortion and cyber terrorism.

According to official sources, internet access on the hospital’s computers has been blocked on the recommendation of the investigating agencies.

The AIIMS computer has saved the personal information of former prime leaders, ministers, officials, and judges, among others.

ALSO READ: Ransomware Attack On AIIMS: Top Medical Institute Server Down, Services Hit

According to media reports, hackers have allegedly sought over Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency. In the interim, the NIC e-hospital database and application servers have been recovered.

According to an official source, the NIC team is scanning and removing infections from additional e-hospital servers situated at AIIMS that are necessary to deliver medical services.

The databases and applications on four physical servers planned to restore e-hospital services have been scanned and prepped.

In addition, the AIIMS network is now being cleaned. Antivirus solutions for servers and computers have been organised. On roughly 1,200 of the 5,000 PCs, it has been installed. Twenty out of fifty servers have been inspected, and this operation is happening round the clock, according to a source.

During the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in cyberattacks on healthcare companies, according to Singapore headquartered cyber security firm CloudSEK.

ALSO READ: Sharp Rise In Cyber Attack On Healthcare Sector, India Second Most Targeted Country: CloudSEK

According to our data, the number of cyberattacks on the industry increased by 95.34 percent in the first four months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The Indian healthcare industry was the second most targeted industry in terms of cyberattacks, according to a company representative.

Protecting patients’ medical and financial information is a new problem for the healthcare sector.

Recent CloudSEK research indicated that urgent threats to the healthcare industry include phishing and BEC (business email compromise), ransomware attacks, DDoS (distributed denial of service) assaults, insider threats, key infrastructure, etc.

ALSO READ: Dr Lal PathLabs data leak: Fine up to Rs 5 crore can be imposed as millions of patients at risk

CloudSEK researchers advised organizations to routinely patch and update their networks, systems, and software. Maintain multiple backups, both online and offline, in separate and safe locations. Keep an eye on website and application logs for any abnormal traffic or activity, suggested CloudSEK.

It is stated that healthcare professionals, especially hospital personnel, should avoid clicking on suspicious emails, messages, and links.

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