Leak of patient records feared as Israeli hospital hit by cyberattack demanding ransom

According to The Times of Israel, the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Beer Yaakov was targeted by a cyberattack over Yom Kippur, with authorities investigating the possibility of a data leak. A Russian-speaking cybercrime organisation threatened to publish patient data and demanded a $700,000 ransom, while the attack was said to be blocked in its initial stages.

The Ynet news outlet reported that the hack briefly shut down a medical records system used by hospitals across Israel, including Assaf Harofeh, which is also known as the Shamir Medical Center; the hospital’s core operations reportedly continued uninterrupted and are back to normal, per reports.

The hack was alleged by Ynet to have been perpetrated by Qilin, a Russian-speaking cybercrime organisation thought to be based in Eastern Europe; the group is claimed to have hacked London hospitals last year, according to The Guardian.