Hackers are reportedly threatening to release the data of 17 million patients from a California health system unless it meets their demands.
A ransomware group sent faxes to Whittier, Calif.-based PIH Health outlining the data it had stolen, which spanned patients' personal information to photos and test results, Whittier Informed reported. The three-hospital system took its IT networks offline and switched to paper records following the Dec. 1 cyberattack. The hackers did not specify their demands in the letter.
"Be informed, there was a Ghost in your network! But don't get spooked, ghost is friendly and we can help you handle with it," the note reads. "So the ghost has taken your data as evidence, and if you're not going to cooperate and make a deal, then all your confidential files will be published on the internet."
The fax was sent to a PIH Health emergency department Nov. 30 but was initially not taken seriously by staff, the Whittier Daily News reported. Becker's reached out to the health system, which declined to comment about the letter to the newspaper.