The servers of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, the leading medical school in India, have been down for six days in a row. Not only that, but according to reports, hackers have also demanded a ransom of almost Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrencies.
Hackers have allegedly demanded around Rs 200 cr in cryptocurrency from AIIMS-Delhi as its server remains out of order for sixth consecutive day; patient care services in emergency, outpatient, inpatient, laboratory wings being managed manually: Sources
November 28, 2022The worst part is that there are concerns that the Wednesday morning security lapse may have exposed the information of 3 to 4 crore patients. Further, according to reports, patient care services in the inpatient, emergency, outpatient, and laboratory wings were managed manually because the server was still down.
An investigation into the ransomware attack is being conducted by a team made up of Delhi Police, Home Ministry, and India Computer Emergency Response Team personnel (CERT-IN). On November 25, the Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) squad opened a case of cyberterrorism and extortion.
It is said that internet connectivity has been disabled on the hospital computers on the advice of the investigating agencies in charge of the case. And because of such precautions, it was possible to save the data of a number of VIPs, including past ministers, prime ministers, officials, and judges. In addition, the NIC team has also organised four physical servers to restore e-hospital services while AIIMS's other e-hospital servers are being cleaned of pathogens.
The AIIMS network is now being cleaned and there are plans for anti-virus programs for computers and servers. Almost 1,200 of the 5,000 available computers have it already installed. This effort is happening seven days a week around the clock, and 20 out of 50 servers have already been inspected.
As information and communication technologies are used more often in India, cybercrime is rising (ICT). The post-COVID era's growing reliance on digital technology has made digital inequities even more apparent. A lack of awareness, an increase in web traffic, a lack of technical understanding among authorities and the public, and challenges in conducting investigations into cybercrime cases are further contributing to the rise of cybercrimes.
In a time when scam artists are coming up with new ways to deceive people into shelling out their money, being alert is the best defence. Nevertheless, despite all the knowledge, hacking is still on the rise, as evidenced by the alleged leak of phone numbers of roughly 500 million WhatsApp users just one day ago. The data is said to contain the personal information of nearly 487 million WhatsApp users from 84 different countries, including India.
Also read: WhatsApp Data Breach: Data Of Nearly 500 Million Users Allegedly Leaked; WhatsApp Denies Breach
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