AIIMS server hack: 5 servers targeted, China involvement suspected

New Delhi, Dec 02: The attack on the servers of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi by cyber fraudsters have put the personal information of millions of patients at stake. According to reports, a total of five servers of the premier hospital were attacked and the cyber attack is suspected to have been carried out by Chinese hackers.

Following the hacking of the servers, the reports suggest that there is a likelihood that the personal data of the patients were sold on the dark web, a hidden part of the internet that is only accessible by a specialized web browser.

The hackers stole the data of millions of patients, including the personal details of several politicians and celebrities.

The report said that the data showed more than 1,600 searches on the dark web for stolen AIIMS data. The stolen data includes details of VVIPs, including politicians and celebrities.

The hackers attacked the AIIMS server on November 23 and allegedly demanded Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency. However, the Delhi Police denied any ransom demand was made.

On Tuesday, the premier health institute informed that eHospital data has been restored on the servers.

On Tuesday, the AIIMS also issued a statement that the e-Hospital data has been restored, "The eHospital data has been restored on the servers. Network is being sanitized before the services can be restored. The process is taking some time due to the volume of data and large number of servers/computers for the hospital services. Measures are being taken for cyber security."

"All hospital services, including outpatient, in-patient, laboratories, etc continue to run on manual mode." It further said.

It is feared that the data of around 3-4 crore patients could have been compromised due to the breach detected on November 23.

The India Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), Delhi Police and representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs are investigating the ransomware attack.

A case of extortion and cyber terrorism was registered by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police on November 25.