The government is considering retaliatory action against Russian hackers for stealing confidential data from several London hospitals after a cyber attack on a blood testing lab, The Guardian reports.
The Russian cybercriminal group Qilin had on June 3 carried out a cyber attack on Synnovis, a lab company that provides testing services to many hospitals in London.
The stolen records cover 300 million patient interactions with the NHS, including the results of blood tests for HIV and cancer.
Qilin made the data public by putting it on their darknet site and Telegram channel early Friday after their ransom demand of £40 million was ignored.
The affected London hospitals, which include Guy’s, St Thomas’ and King’s services, have set up helplines to answer queries of anxious patients.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are holding discussions about how to respond.
UK law enforcement has a precedent of taking on ransomware gangs directly. The NCA recently disrupted the operations of the world’s largest ransomware outfit – the LockBit group – in a joint operation with international partners.
The operation was carried out jointly with the FBI, Europol, and a coalition of international police agencies.
It led to the unmasking of the gang’s alleged leader Dmitry Khoroshev, a Russian national.
NHS England has cautioned patients that they may be targeted by criminals seeking a ransom. They have been advised to immediately call Action Fraud.
Qilin has reportedly locked Synnovis out of its IT system.
This has affected many hospitals and they were forced to ration access to blood tests. Many surgeries have been put off.
The NHS has shifted some of the cases to other lab service providers and managed to increase the number of blood tests.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)