Chinese Hackers Vacuum Data From U.S. Health Industry

/chinese-hackers-vacuum-data-from-u-dot-

  • Chinese Hackers Vacuum Data From U.S. Health Industry - Businessweek
    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-08-21/chinese-hackers-vacuum-data-from-u-dot-s-dot-health-industry

    For four years, a sophisticated group of Chinese cyberspies has cut a digital swath through the health-care industry, stealing everything from trade secrets to trial data, say security firms probing the campaign.

    The group infiltrated one U.S. drugmaker by hacking into a company it was about to acquire, said a security consultant who asked not to be identified because of a confidentiality agreement. In other cases, the hackers accessed pharmaceutical labs through their connections with university researchers, scooping up trial data and other trade secrets, said Aaron Shelmire, a threat researcher for Dell SecureWorks.

    A newly reported theft of personal data from 4.5 million patients served by Community Health Systems Inc., the second biggest U.S. for-profit hospital chain, may be the first time the Chinese group has targeted consumer data, terrain usually left to cybercriminals in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, say security experts after the break-in.

    The efforts of the Chinese group has forced medical technology and drug companies to make huge new investments in computer security, and left the $160 billion U.S. medical device market worrying about what may be done down the line with the pilfered data.
    (…)
    The Chinese group goes by many names among U.S. security consultants, including Dynamite Panda, APT 18 and TG-0416. It’s most commonly known as Wekby, the group security companies say was responsible for one of the most famous hacks in recent history — the 2011 breach of the security company RSA. In that incident, hackers stole authentication keys used to protect the secrets of banks and the U.S. government.