The Red Cross hacks, the data of thousands of people are threatened

Cyberattacks are far from affecting only companies in the CAC40 and having the means to possibly pay huge amounts of ransoms. They also, unfortunately, very often target organizations that are more sensitive to limited resources, including hospitals, municipalities or, more recently, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This non-profit organization aims to provide support and assistance to vulnerable people, in very great difficulty or in danger all over the world. As if her task wasn’t difficult enough, she announced that she was hit this week by a sophisticated cyberattack that targeted her computer servers.

The hackers attacked a Swiss supplier storing ICRC data, without further details at this stage. Personal information and confidential data of more than 515,000 people have been compromised, from at least 60 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world. Contacted by the editorial staff for details and to know how many French people have been affected by this data breach, the French Red Cross has not yet responded to our request.

A call not to publish, sell or use the hacked data

“Attacking the data of these people adds to the deep distress of the families. We are all appalled and surprised that humanitarian information like this has been targeted and compromised,” said ICRC Director General Robert Mardini. “This cyberattack only puts vulnerable people, who are already in need of humanitarian services, at even greater risk.” And Robert Mardini to appeal to the perpetrators of this act of piracy: “Your actions risk causing even more harm to people who have already endured terrible suffering. Behind the information you now have in your possession are helpless individuals and families who are among the most vulnerable on the planet. We ask that you be humane and refrain from sharing, selling, disclosing or using this data in any way”.

Following this cyberattack, the ICRC also indicates that it was forced to disconnect its computer systems on which its activities are based and is working as quickly as possible to restore their operation. “Cyberattacks like the one we have just suffered jeopardize these essential activities,” says Robert Mardini. “We take this violation extremely seriously. We are working closely with our humanitarian partners around the world to understand the scope of this attack and take the necessary steps to better protect our data in the future.”

An attempt to engage with pirates

Sign of the criticality of the situation, the ICRC said it was ready to dialogue with the pirates to explain to them the scope of their gesture. “We stand ready to communicate directly and anonymously with those – whoever it is – responsible for this operation to provide them with more information on the protected status of the data in question,” explained an ICRC spokesperson in Geneva. , Thursday. Unfortunately, history shows that discussions with cybercriminals – if they take place – are very often oriented around the payment of ransoms, if necessary they can add a massive collection of hacked personal data to the dark net.