Hackers Steal Data from Cosmetic Surgery Chain The Hospital Group
Hackers have stolen data from the cosmetic surgery chain The Hospital Group and are threatening to release sensitive patient information including before and after photos.
The hacker group REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, have taken responsibility for the hack, claiming that they have obtained over 900 gigabytes of patient photographs.
The Hospital Group confirmed the hack in a statement on their website: "Transform Hospital Group recently experienced a data security incident. Elements of our IT systems were accessed by an unauthorised third party on December 6th.
“While we currently have no evidence that the data we hold for the majority of our patients has been taken, we have identified the possibility that some personal data relating to a small minority of individuals may have been extracted during the incident. We will be writing separately to anyone who could be affected by this.
“We can provide reassurance, however, that no payment card details have been compromised.”
Speaking to the BBC, a customer spoke about his concerns regarding the breach, saying: "I have had an email from The Hospital Group informing me of a 'data security incident' but no detail as to what has been hacked.
"I'm obviously concerned as the last thing I want is 'before photos' being splattered around in the public domain. I've tried to keep my surgery private and not even some of my friends and colleagues know about it, so the data breach is concerning for me."
The Hospital Group is said to have reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Once the ICO is informed of a data breach, it will investigate and, where appropriate, take action. This could include requiring the organisation in question to pay a fine and/or take steps to improve their security processes.
Hayes Connor is currently acting for several clients who have been affected by The Hospital Group data breach and are ready to advise anyone else who may have been impacted.
Wondering if you may be entitled to compensation for The Hospital Group data breach? Please get in touch.