Hackers Claim to Breach Israeli Defense Force Medical Data

A hacker group claims to have stolen a trove of 500GB of medical data from Ziv Medical Center in Safed, Israel — including 100,000 records related to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

The center itself issued a statement on Nov. 27 confirming that it was investigating a cyber incident. A subsequent Telegram post on Dec. 2 by the Malek Team cyber-threat group took responsibility for the hit, claiming that the data includes 700,000 medical documents, with media reports saying this includes patients' personal and medical information, such as types of diseases suffered and prescribed drugs.

The hacker group also offered a series of screenshots of the allegedly stolen information. It was not clear if they're attempting to sell the data or just making it available for download.

Researchers first spotted Malek Team on Oct. 8, when it posted claims of hacking into Ono Academic College, a private college in Israel. That post also displayed personal data allegedly stolen from staff and students, including campus CCTV videos.

The Israeli medical sector has been an increasingly popular target of late: The Ragnar Locker gang, for example, hit the Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in September and stole 1TB of data, including personal information, internal emails, finances, medical cards, and other sensitive data.