Radiation treatment within one week: Cyber ​​attack on RCC from abroad; charges of terrorism to be charged against accused

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police confirmed that the cyber attack that interrupted the radiation treatment at the Regional Cancer Center (RCC) came from abroad. Out of the 14 servers attacked, only 11 have been recovered. Therefore, the radiation treatment will resume only next week. Cyber, forensic and log examination is in progress to find out from which country and from which IP address the attack originated. It will be completed within a week. Police will register an FIR based on the evidence collected through computer log analysis. Three teams are on the investigation.

The Chinese hackers who carried out the cyber attack on Delhi AIIMS in 2022 were charged with terrorism. Similar action will be taken here. The cyber attack on RCC was first reported by 'Kerala Kaumudi'. The servers where the radiation software was uploaded were attacked on Monday morning. Hackers who locked the medical information of more than 20 lakh patients provided contact email addresses to release it. The police will collect information in this regard. If the hackers demand money in cryptocurrency to release the data, the special team in Kochi will also investigate. The police concluded that the accused could not be professional gangs as loopholes were left in the hacking.

The cyber police and IT department's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-K) recovered the data through emergency measures. Software companies GE and Variant and the IT department at RCC are setting up firewalls and antivirus defences to prevent future cyber attacks. Radiation treatment will resume after this is completed today and software auditing is done.

FIR should be strengthened

• Since it is a foreign attack, accurate technical information should be included in the FIR. It will be presented as evidence in international forums such as the United Nations.
• Delhi and Bengal police servers and computers of two individuals in Malappuram Thanur were hacked by people with Russian and Ukrainian connections. The 18-year-old suspect was caught on the dark web.