Hackers demand $10M for VA prescription database

It is, unfortunately, the kind of spectacular crime that tends to encourage imitators. One or more black-hat hackers has apparently stolen millions of personal prescription records from a state database tracking controlled substances, and is demanding $10 million for their safe return.

The hacker(s) say they've gained access to the 8 million patient records and 35 million prescriptions collected by the Prescription Monitoring Program, which tracks narcotics and painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin in an effort to cut down on abuse, theft and resale. About 2,500 healthcare professionals have access to this data.

The thief or thieves had set a deadline of last Thursday for getting the money, after which they said they'd put the data on the open market. The state didn't pay the ransom, but as far as authorities know nobody has managed to sell the data as of yet.

To learn more about the theft:
- read this piece The Washington Post

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