Hacked Delhi AIIMS data put up for sale on dark web, say sources

Hackers, who are believed to be from a foreign rogue nation, have demanded an extortion of Rs 200 crores in cryptocurrency against the data held at ransom.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi

NEW DELHI: A chunk of data from India’s top hospital, that was hacked by a major cyberattack on its servers, is allegedly up for sale at the dark web, sources privy to the development in the investigation of the incident said on Friday.

According to the sources, the data has been leaked and is being searched on the dark net, which is referred to as a den of illegal cyber activities including, sale and purchase of confidential information about government or private organisations. It is feared that data of around 4 crore patients could be compromised with this breach that the agencies involved in the investigation have detected, sources added.

The sources claimed that the data was leaked by the hackers who attacked the main, back-up and three other servers of the medical institute ten days ago. The ransomware attack that hit AIIMS on November 23 has made centralised records inaccessible and affected hospital services such as generation of Unique Health Identification, registrations, laboratory reports, the process of billing and patient discharge, among others. The patient care services in emergency and OPDs are running manually as the e-hospital, a software of AIIMS, which manages patient data system and routine activities in the patient care areas including OPD, IPD and diagnostic departments, has been forced to shut down.

According to the doctors, patients, especially who come from outside of Delhi, are facing extreme difficulties as the manual process has slowed down routine affairs. “The daily count of patients consulted in OPDs and investigations at diagnostic areas have significantly dropped,” a senior doctor said. The Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) cell filed an FIR invoking sections of cyber terrorism against unknown people, even as teams from the National Informatics Centre and Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) have been attempting to restore the network.

HACKERS DEMANDED Rs 200 CR

• The ransomware attack that hit AIIMS on November 23 has made centralised records inaccessible. Around 4 crores of data wiped clean of the servers compromised in the attack. A chunk of it found its way on the dark web.
• The whole patient care services in emergency and OPDs are running manually since the e-hospital software, which manages patient data system and routine activities in the patient care areas has been forced to shutdown
• Hackers, who are believed to be from a foreign rogue nation, have demanded an extortion of Rs 200 crores in cryptocurrency against the data held at ransom
• Outstation patients are facing extreme difficulties as the manual process has slowed down routine affairs. The daily count of patients consulted in OPDs and investigations at diagnostic areas have dropped
• Central agencies including Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, Delhi Cybercrime Special Cell, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Forensic Sciences University, National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre, and National Investigation Agency, are investigating the incident