According to the Daily Dot, a ransomware gang is threatening to release “pictures of patients” it claims it hacked from a plastic surgery clinic in Beverly Hills, California.
The cybercrime group ALPHV, commonly referred to as BlackCat, shared a post on the dark web alleging that it had stolen Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) from Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery, Inc. (BHPS).
“We have lots of PII and PHI, including a lot of pictures of patients that they would not want out there,” the group wrote. “It be in your best interest to reach out before we release all data. Leak to follow if no contact made.”
Traditionally, ransomware groups locked victims out of their computers by encrypting their files. Unless a ransom is paid, the key to unlock the files would not be provided. However, cybercriminals are increasingly stealing files and threatening to release them to the public if the ransom demands are not met.