TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei’s Mackay Memorial Hospital apologized Thursday to the public for an information leak caused by a cyberattack earlier this month.
On Feb. 9, the hospital was hit by ransomware called “Crazy Hunter,” causing over 500 computers to crash and reportedly up to 32.5 GB of information stolen, per CNA. The leaked data allegedly includes personal details of 16.6 million patients from Mackay branches across Taiwan, including Tamsui and Hsinchu.
On Feb. 28, a hacker on an online forum claimed to possess data from the attack and sold it online, per UDN. In response, the hospital said in a press release that it follows a zero-trust model and clarified three points.
- When hackers infiltrated the system, the hospital followed emergency protocols and filed a report using the health ministry’s cybersecurity platform.
- The hospital said online scams are common, and advised the public not to follow instructions and take money out of ATMs or provide personal information in suspicious calls.
- The hospital will strengthen its cybersecurity system and conduct regular system checks.
Ministry of Health and Welfare Department of Information Management Director Lee Chien-chang (李建璋) commented that while the data being sold appears to be medical information, it needs to be confirmed whether it came from Mackay. He added the hospital’s operations were not disrupted, though the hackers had encrypted and stolen the data.
Lee added that Changhua Christian Hospital was also recently hacked, with attackers gaining administrator privileges. He called on hospitals to increase their cybersecurity measures.
