Today at 12:15 • Updated today at 12:25
Cyber criminals who broke into software supplier ChipSoft and stole patient data at the beginning of this month have an interest in maintaining their reputation. If ChipSoft has reached an agreement with the criminals, there is a good chance that the hackers will adhere to the agreements. “Otherwise, no one will want to do business with them in the future,” cyber expert Eward Driehuis explains.
The company announced on Tuesday that the patient data stolen in the hack has not been published anywhere and has been destroyed. It is not known whether money was paid to the hackers.
According to Driehuis, the fact that ChipSoft can say that the data is safe indicates that they have reached an agreement with the criminals. “Evidently ChipSoft saw something or received clarity from the thieves that convinced them that the stolen data had been destroyed,” he said. Last week it also became clear that the software supplier was negotiating with the hackers.
If the software supplier had not been sure, they would not have announced that the data had been destroyed. “The consequences are too great for ChipSoft to make a mistake.”
Reputation is of great importance
The reputation of the hackers is also of great importance in an agreement, according to Driehuis. “They will do everything they can to gain a good name. If they do not keep to any agreements made, it is bad publicity for the thieves and future victims will no longer want to do business with them.”
Of course, there remains a chance that the criminals still have the data.
Threatened to put data on the dark web
ChipSoft was hit by a hack at the beginning of this month. The company is a major player in the field of digital patient files: the majority of Brabant hospitals and several general practices work with their systems.
Although hospitals seemed to largely escape the threat, Brabant general practices appeared to be affected. Various general practices therefore warned their patients about suspicious phone calls, emails, text messages and apps.
General practice Heikant from Veldhoven informed patients on Wednesday morning that an independent external party has not yet confirmed that the data has been destroyed, despite ChipSoft’s statement.
Last week, the NOS reported that the hacker group had threatened to throw patient data on the dark web. On that hidden part of the internet there would have been a message with a countdown clock. The criminals claimed to have stolen more than 100 gigabytes of data from ChipSoft.
Here you can read all the stories about cyber attacks in Brabant.
Omroep Brabant previously made an explanation video about data leaks. You can see it here:
