118 people press charges over data leak from lab behind cervical cancer screening
118 people have filed criminal charges in the investigation into the data breach at Clinical Diagnostics, the laboratory that handled the Dutch population screening for cervical cancer, among other things, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced on Tuesday. Hackers stole 850,000 people’s personal data in a ransomware attack in August last year.
In a ransomware attack, hackers demand payment from a company to prevent them from leaking or destroying the stolen data. In this case, the hackers wanted large sums of cryptocurrency from the lab to prevent it from leaking the medical data. Despite claiming that the Clinical Diagnostics paid the ransom, the hackers did end up leaking the data of hundreds of thousands of women who participated in the cervical screening and tens of thousands of other patients who were referred to the lab for medical tests by their house doctor or other medical professionals.
The hack came to light after the Dutch Population Survey Foundation (BDON) went to the authorities. The OM and police launched a criminal investigation, which is still ongoing.
The OM said it could not yet provide any substantive information about the progress of the investigation. “Investigating digital crime is always intensive and time-consuming; evidence is complex and can originate from anywhere in the world. In such investigations, legal assistance from other countries is often required before the police can take the next step. This makes identifying a suspect a lengthy process,” the OM said.
“If an arrest and criminal case are made, the OM will decide what to do with the 118 reports,” the OM said. “Reporters will be informed in due course.”
