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Hackers Steal Data for 15 Million Patients, Then Sell It Back to Lab That Lost It

posted by Fnord666 on Thursday December 19 2019, @03:16AM   Printer-friendly
from the blood-money dept.

Freeman writes:

Canada's biggest provider of specialty laboratory testing services said it paid hackers an undisclosed amount for the return of personal data they stole belonging to as many as 15 million customers.
[...]
The incident response, company President and CEO Charles Brown said in a statement, included "retrieving the data by making a payment." The executive added: "We did this in collaboration with experts familiar with cyber-attacks and negotiations with cyber criminals." The statement didn't say how much LifeLabs paid for the return of the data. Representatives didn't immediately respond to an email seeking the amount.
[...]
The LifeLabs statement said that company officials have fixed the system that led to the breach. The company is providing a year of free identity theft monitoring and identity theft insurance. Affected customers can sign up for the help here.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/12/clinical-lab-pays-hackers-for-the-return-of-d

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by ilPapa on Thursday December 19 2019, @04:57AM (2 children)

    by ilPapa (2366) on Thursday December 19 2019, @04:57AM (#934097) Journal

    I wish they'd stop calling them "hackers". The name romanticizes what is nothing more than theft, extortion, and fraud. They are the equivalent of someone who steals an Amazon package off your porch with your kid's Christmas present in it, but we don't get Soylent news stories about someone who gets a bike stolen or someone who breaks into an elderly lady's house and steals her medication.

    There is no skill involved. Nothing clever. Nothing cool. They're trash. They deserve punishment. They do not deserve to become folk heroes.

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by RS3 on Thursday December 19 2019, @06:41AM

    by RS3 (6367) on Thursday December 19 2019, @06:41AM (#934114)

    I agree, and I like your analogy.

    I wish they'd stop calling them "hackers" because they're trashing the word "hacker". It used to mean "tinkerer" or "hobbyist". I've heard old codgers refer to themselves as a "hack" when talking about something they do, like golf, or playing an instrument, or whatever hobby they do for fun but aren't amazing at.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 19 2019, @11:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 19 2019, @11:52PM (#934445)

    If they steal MY pills, they won't ever do it again.

    My heart pills are the exact opposite of Viagra.

    And my other pills will make you get up hourly to go pee. You will not get a decent night's sleep.