Russian hackers target IVF clinics across UK used by thousands of couples News UK Metro News

pA prestigious IVF clinic has confirmed Russian hackers broke into their systems used by thousands of couples across the UK after Metro revealed the huge data breachppThe London Womens Clinic which offers IVF egg freezing and other fertility treatments at 17 centres across the country was compromised by the ransomware gang QilinppA number of NHS patients are among those who use the clinic and may have been at risk of having their private medical data exposedppThe concerning data breach is believed to have taken place on October 19 when the Russian group posted about it on its dark web channelsppStart your day informed with Metros News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens ppOne former private patient who used the clinic with her husband for initial investigations told Metro Its horrible to think my personal details could be part of a criminal database with information it was hard to share even with a doctor potentially becoming public knowledge Fertility challenges are already hard enoughppNews that they have been hacked is a concern as obviously the things you share and discuss in those consultations can be incredibly intimate and upsetting and not the kind of thing youd want to see plastered on the dark webppI havent had any emails from them to indicate there could have been a problem so this is the first Ive heard of it ppThey used encryption to send confidential messages so seemed to be taking care to keep personal information protected Hopefully any data accessed was therefore limitedppLondon Womens Clinic confirmed the breach to Metro a day after the newspaper revealed the attackppThey said they are still investigating what happened with cybersecurity experts and assured patients their systems have been securedppThe Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority HFEA and NHS England first confirmed the hack to MetroppRachel Cutting director of compliance and information at the HFEA said The clinic has informed the HFEA of the incident in line with its regulatory requirements and is giving us regular updates during the course of their full investigationppWe appreciate that this incident may be concerning to patients Any patients who have questions about the incident should contact the clinic Patients can also access further support through the clinics counselling serviceppTone JarvisMack of the Fertility Foundation called on The London Womens Clinic to be transparent about the nature of the concerning data breachppThe fertility charitys chief executive last night said The clinic should be transparent Any company is vulnerable to an attackppThat patient data may be leaked out into the public will add more stress at a time when they are going through a stressful situationppClinics should be ultra secure We have to go on faith that they are protecting our datappMr JarvisMack estimated that the clinic could hold sensitive personal data for thousands of couples they have treated over the years including many partners being funded through the NHSppHe continued The London Womens Clinic holds treatment data and information on medication tests STI checksppThere are all kinds of tests you would not want public With that information that would allow them to create the perfect scam They would know exactly who you are your partners name your occupationppThe clinic has since clarified to Metro that their investigations suggest electrical medical records were not accessed However questions remain how the hackers managed to break into the network in the first placeppA spokesperson from the medical organisation said London Womens Clinic has been the subject of a cyber security incidentppWe wish to reassure our patients that our technical teams took immediate action to shut the incident down secure our IT systems and begin a thorough investigation with the support of leading cybersecurity expertsppThe incident was quickly contained and we wish to assure our patients that our systems are secured and we are operating as normalppWe have notified all relevant authorities including law enforcement Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority HFEA and Information Commissioners Office ICO and are cooperating with them on their external investigationsppWe understand how concerning this will be for our patients To date our investigations indicate that our Electronic Medical Records system has not been accessed However we continue to assess any wider impact and we will contact individuals directly as appropriate to provide support and guidanceppAny patients with questions should contact us directlyppAn NHS England spokesperson said We are aware of an incident affecting the private provider London Womens Clinic and our Cyber Security Operations Centre has been working with them to offer support and assess any impactppThe London Womens Clinic opened in 1985 and pioneered treatments for prospective mothersppThey were the first clinic in the UK to provide sperm donor insemination for lesbian couplesppQilin are a Russianspeaking ransomware gang although the location of the group is unknownppThe hackers have been active since October 2022 when they launched attacks on companies such as Robert Bernard in France and Australian IT consultancy DialogppThey also offer ransomware as a service which allows other hackers to use their tools in return for a cut of the proceedsppOne of their most devastating UK attacks was against the publisher of the Big Issue in March 2024 They wrecked the groupss systems and published more than 500GB of confidential data after the publisher refused to pay ransomppIn 2023 Qilins typical ransom demand was anything from 50000 to 800000 according to GroupIB a cybersecurity firm which infiltrated the group that yearppQilin based in Russia was behind a ransomware attack on NHS hospitals in June which affected blood transfusions and test resultsppRansomware attacks involve hackers encrypting a victims files locking them out of their data and then demanding a ransom for the decryption keyppQilin has been known to post stolen data on the dark web when their victims fail to pay a ransomppIt is not known what information has been accessed and whether the London Womens Clinic has paid any ransom for the datappGet in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnewsmetrocoukppFor more stories like this check our news pageppppArrow
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