Cybersecurity experts say a full-blown hunt for medical records has begun in Russia. The information contained in them is no less, and perhaps more interesting, to the “bad guys” than credit card numbers. It turns out that it creates huge opportunities for cybercriminals to enrich themselves and provides serious leverage to influence people whose data they get their hands on.

What is the value of medical data?

First, hackers, getting information from the cards, become the owners of the passport data of Russian citizens. In addition, using the information from them, you can access drugs whose circulation is limited by current legislation. There is also the possibility of blackmail and threats to disclose health and disease-related information. Hackers can also implement various schemes to extort money from naive Russians. With a little effort, medical card data can provide access to users’ funds.

The biggest leak in history

One of the largest sources in Russia was the incident with the medical company “Hemotest”. The database of this medical center is now for sale on the dark web. It contains at least 31 million rows. At least some users are likely to be potential victims. For example, there are several patients who test positive for HIV. They can be blackmailed. In addition, they may be offered the wrong treatment, which can save money instead of the disease. All victims may be offered “compensation” based on registration, card number and “small taxes”.