Hackers threaten to publish the medical data of Dutch women online
The criminals who stole the medical records of hundreds of thousands of participants in the National Population Survey (Nationaal Bevolkingsonderzoek) are now threatening to publish the data online. The hackers, who call themselves Nova, announced their threat on their site on the dark web and issued an ultimatum to the lab that managed the stolen information.
According to the Nova Group, the Clinical Diagnostics lab has breached an agreement with them, without specifying its details. It is likely that the matter relates to the lab's decision to involve the police in the investigation of the data breach.
To increase the pressure, the hackers set a countdown timer online, threatening that unless they receive a large sum of money within eleven days, the stolen data will be made public.
Earlier, a report from RTL Nieuws based on sources close to Nova and Clinical Diagnostics stated that the lab had already paid a ransom after the cyber attack, but the amount was not disclosed.
The stolen medical records belong to 485,000 women who participated in cervical cancer screening tests, either through a medical smear by a family doctor or via a self-test.