South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service Battles Aftermath of June Ransomware Attack

South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is grappling with the aftermath of a ransomware attack that occurred in June, causing significant delays in lab testing and compromising vast amounts of data. The cyberattack, claimed by the Russian criminal syndicate BlackSuit, blocked doctors from accessing critical patient information for weeks. Despite efforts to restore operations, the NHLS struggles to make patient medical histories available again.

• The NHLS experienced a ransomware attack in June, leading to extensive lab testing delays and the theft of significant data volumes.
• Russian criminal syndicate BlackSuit claimed responsibility for the cyberattack and demanded a ransom for the stolen data.
• The health ministry took several weeks to identify the breach, during which critical medical information was inaccessible to doctors.
• Cybersecurity experts highlight the lucrative nature of data piracy, with the industry valued at over 1 billion EUR annually and a noticeable surge in victims and ransom demands.
• Despite the hackers’ threats to release confidential patient information, no ransom was paid, and operations have been reportedly restored, though patient medical histories remain unavailable.

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