A hacking group known as ALPHV, or BlackCat, has announced that it successfully breached the Barts Health NHS Trust, one of the largest hospital groups in the UK, threatening to expose a significant amount of confidential data.
The group claimed to have gained unauthorized access to seven terabytes of internal documents from the trust, which manages five hospitals in London, serving around 2.5 million individuals. While ALPHV is known for deploying ransomware, it remains uncertain whether they used this tactic during the attack on the hospitals.
ALPHV’s recent trend involves stealing data without deploying ransomware and then demanding payment to prevent the publication of the stolen information. The gang’s statement on the dark web revealed that they released a selection of files obtained from Barts Health, including internal emails, correspondence, and copies of employees’ personal documents. They claimed that this data haul represents the largest leak from the UK’s healthcare system.
ALPHV has been active since November 2021, targeting various companies across sectors such as construction, engineering, retail, transportation, commercial services, insurance, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals. They recruit affiliates on cybercrime forums, renting out their ransomware to facilitate attacks on organizations.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has previously faced significant disruption due to cyberattacks, including the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017, which affected multiple hospitals and led to appointment and operation cancellations. Last year, an attack on Advanced, an NHS software provider, disrupted patient services for several weeks.
Barts Health NHS Trust has acknowledged the claims of a potential ransomware attack and stated that they are urgently investigating the situation. The extent of the breach and the potential impact on patient data and services are still being assessed.
