Hackers tried to steal files on a cancer treatment to hold for ransom in a recent cyberattack on Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope, databreaches.net reported.
The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group had hoped to acquire information about the AOH1966 targeted chemotherapy treatment licensed by City of Hope to extort the cancer center but was unsuccessful, according to the April 3 story. Instead, the cybercriminals stole data containing patients' personal and protected health information. The gang was later infiltrated by the FBI but has since taken responsibility for the massive hack of UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare.
A City of Hope spokesperson referred Becker's to the organization's official statement on the incident. The cancer center said April 2 that it discovered around Oct. 13 that hackers had accessed and copied files containing such data as Social Security numbers, bank account and credit card information, and medical records. City of Hope said it has no evidence of data fraud or misuse but is offering impacted individuals two years of free identity monitoring services.
More than 827,000 individuals were affected by the data breach, the cancer center notified the Maine attorney general's office.