The hackers that carried out the serious cyberattack on Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital In Bnei Brak last week gained access to the personal information of hundreds of thousands of patients, including senior Chareidi figures.

Yisrael Hayom reported on Wednesday that the hackers are demanding tens of millions of shekels from the hospital, threatening that if they don’t receive the money, they’ll release sensitive medical files of senior Rabbanim and Rebbes, Chareidi politicians, and other well-known Chareidi figures.

The hackers claim that they accessed hundreds of thousands of digital medical files, including psychiatric evaluations and other private information.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu underwent treatment at Mayanei HaYeshua in 2015 but according to the report, it is unclear if the hackers accessed his medical information.

The report says that government officials have examined the possibility that the cyberattack was cyberterrorism orchestrated by hostile elements. The attack has been attributed to the Ragnar Locker group from Eastern Europe.

Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority (a Justice Ministry division) on Tuesday issued a clarification in preparation for the possibility of the publication of patients’ personal information. The statement said that it is forbidden to use personal medical information, including copying, distributing, publishing, processing or storing it, and doing so may constitute a criminal offense and it will not hesitate to use its legal and administrative powers against anyone who does so.

A former senior official at the Health Ministry, who also serves as a science and regulatory advisor, said: “There’s a very large discrepancy between the announcements issued by Mayanei HaYeshua, that claimed the event was over, and such a threat by the hackers. If there is indeed a threat to publish information – then it’s a fait accompli. The state’s guidelines are that they do not pay for the encrypted information but publication is expected one way or another because these companies are engaged in both encryption and the sale of the information.”

The hospital sent the following statement to Yisrael Hayom: “Over the past week, the cyber experts from the Health Ministry, the National Cyber Directorate, and the hospital have been investigating the attack, and this includes an evaluation as to the scope of the breach and its implications. There have been no negotiations of any kind with the hackers, and as we have said right after the attack happened, this incident is financially motivated. We will provide more details as we get them.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)