CYBERCRIMINAL group Qilin are behind attacks on the computer systems of companies around the world.
Find out more about chaos the hackers caused at a number of top London hospitals.
Who are Russian cyber gang Qilin?
Qilin are a group of Russian cyber criminals.
It’s reported that they’re who are behind the cyber attack that affected a number of major London hospitals and led to huge delays and a raft of cancelled operations.
They’re notorious for their hits on firms and government bodies around the world.
In the past they’ve managed to get hold of recordings from court hearings in the Australian state of Victoria.
They also owned up to attacking China-based car company Yanfeng Automotive Interiors in 2023.
They stole files including technical data sheets, putting the brakes on production at the company’s plants in the US.
In March they hacked into the computer systems at Big Issue Group, who are the publishers of the well-known UK magazine sold by homeless people.
What did Russian cybercriminals Qilin do?
Qilin attack computer systems of companies with something called ransomware.
This is where hackers try to bring down systems by blocking users from getting onto them.
Once they’ve done it, they’ll then demand huge sums of money to unlock the files and let the company access them again.
The NHS confirmed it was a ransomware attack that hit several London hospitals on Monday, June 3rd 2024.
It’s thought the UK Government won’t give in to ransom demands from hackers.
Which hospitals were affected by Qilin’s cyber attack?
Some of London’s biggest hospitals had to declare a critical incident when Qilin carried out their attack.
King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ – including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital were affected.
It meant they had to cancel a lot of operations and weren’t able to carry out any blood transfusions.
It also led to huge delays in already-stretched A&E departments as sick patients were forced to wait hours for emergency test results to come back.
Some even had to be sent elsewhere to be seen to.
The hospitals affected were all ones who work with a firm called Synnovis, who analyse results sent to them of patients with diseases.
GP services at a number of doctors’ surgeries across the capital were also impacted.
The NHS issued an apology to patients, and said: “We are working urgently to fully understand the impact of the incident with the support of the government’s National Cyber Security Centre and our Cyber Operations team.”
How were Synnovis pathology lab services affected?
Synnovis pathology lab was the target of the ransomware attack.
They work with the NHS, analysing tests and sending the results back to hospitals.
They say they’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened, but they’ve got a taskforce of experts working to get to the bottom of it.
We take cybersecurity very seriously at Synnovis and have invested heavily in ensuring our IT arrangements are as safe as they possibly can be. This is a harsh reminder that this sort of attack can happen to anyone at any time and that, dispiritingly, the individuals behind it have no scruples about who their actions might affect.”
Synnovis statement
It affected all their computer systems and caused disruption to all the services they provide.
Pathology is the study of diseases, where scientists try to work out what’s making somebody feel ill using samples they’ve given them.
