NHS Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary confirmed a cyber attack had taken place (Picture: Wikimedia)
A hacker group is attempting to hold the NHS to ransom after allegedly stealing patient’s medical data during a cyber attack.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway warned earlier this that hackers may be in possession of a ‘significant quantity’ of confidential patient and staff information.
The group, who call themselves INC Ranson, are now threatening to release three terabytes of data unless their demands are met.
In a post of their dark web blog, the group released a ‘proof pack’ of data which was confirmed to be authentic.
A group calling themselves INF Ransom have taken credit for the attack (Picture: Shutterstock)
Patients whose data has been leaked will be contacted by the board, while patient-facing services will continue as normal.
In a statement posted to the health board’s website, chief executive Jeff Ace said: ‘We absolutely deplore the release of confidential patient data as part of this criminal act.
‘This information has been released by hackers to evidence that this is in their possession.
‘We are continuing to work with Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Centre, the Scottish Government, and other agencies in response to this developing situation.’
A spokesman for the National Cyber Security Centre said: ‘We are working with law enforcement, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government to fully understand the impact of an incident.’
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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