new Jersey41 minutes ago
- copy link
Quest Diagnostics, one of America’s largest medical lab companies, has been cyber-attacked. In this, illegal access was made to the health related and personal information of the patients.
The company gave this information on Thursday. According to cyber security research company Comparitech, by September 2026, 716 attacks were recorded on the healthcare sector around the world. Of these, 410 attacks took place in America alone.
Quest Diagnostics’ online system hacked
According to the company, its Quantum Lab Services Manager (LSM) system was affected by the cyber attack. This online system is used by some customers to order lab tests, get test results, and view reports.
As soon as Quest Diagnostics became aware of this incident, it stopped using the affected systems. The company said that the matter is being investigated. For this, work is also being done with the concerned law agencies.
The company said that its daily operations have not been affected by this cyber attack. Doctors and health institutions can send samples for testing through lab systems or electronic medical records (EMR) as before.
The company said that it takes patients’ personal information and security seriously. Efforts are being made to completely restore the affected systems as soon as possible.
What patient information was affected?
According to Quest Diagnostics, some patient data in that online system was accessed without permission. However, other systems of the company were not affected.
The company said that in this incident, personal information related to health information and identity of patients was accessed. But it is not yet clear what specific information was viewed or affected.
The company is investigating how much data was accessed. He said that under the law, those who are required to report the incident will be informed.
There were 185 attacks in America between July-September
According to the report of cyber security research company Comparitech, 410 cyber attacks were recorded worldwide and 225 attacks in the US between January and June this year in the health sector. Between July and September, 306 attacks were reported worldwide and 185 in the US.
In these attacks, hackers lock or steal data from a computer system or network. After this, ransom can be demanded in exchange for returning the data or opening the system. However, it is not necessary that ransom be demanded in every cyber attack.
According to US Department of Health (HHS) records, 571 incidents of data leaks affecting at least 500 people were reported as of September 30, 2026. Of these, 485 incidents were related to hacking or IT systems. The information of about 7.67 crore people was affected by these incidents.
Quest Diagnostics’ data has been leaked before
Quest Diagnostics, based in New Jersey, has had previous incidents of patient information being leaked.
In the year 2016, the company had said that the information of about 34 thousand people was affected in a data leak incident. This included lab test results and contact information.
After this, in 2019, personal information of about 1.19 crore patients of the company was affected.
——————–
Read this news also…
Cyber attack on French supermarkets: Fridges of more than 480 shops heated up to 50°C, food got spoiled, fire broke out at many places.
A major cyberattack occurred on Monday on the refrigeration systems of hundreds of supermarkets in France. Due to this, the temperature of fridges and freezers of more than 480 shops reached 50 degrees Celsius. Read the full news…
Source link
[ad_3]
