TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Patient health records at a hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Welfare have reportedly been stolen in a series of Chinese cyberattacks.
The computer systems of the Taoyuan General Hospital (TGH) in northern Taiwan have been hit by a string of hacks since August 2020 due to malware and backdoor attacks, reported Liberty Times.
The breaches have resulted in leaks of medical records and staff files, while fake prescriptions were also added to the hospital system, the report claimed. Source codes with annotations in simplified Chinese and lists of Chinese software developers have been found in the hospital’s computer systems, along with a Chinese version of a database management system not meeting the cybersecurity requirements of Taiwan’s public sector, the report suggested.
The systems are supplied and maintained by Taichung-based Shine Information Service Co., a service provider focusing on smart healthcare, whose owner appears to have ties with China, according to the report. The company has also secured deals with the defense ministry’s medical affairs agency and the health ministry-affiliated Taipei Hospital.
TGH said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 7) the hospital “delayed reporting of cybersecurity incidents,” but denied allegations of patient data being stolen from the compromised systems. They added that personnel had been punished amid an ongoing investigation without providing further details.
