The website of the Central Ministry of Health has been targeted by Russian group of hackers, ‘Phoenix’. Cyber security agency Cloud-SEK has claimed that the hackers have gained access to the Health Management Information System portal of the Union Health Ministry. The hackers have made a dent in the data of all of the country’s doctors, hospitals, and staffers.
The Health Ministry has asked for a detailed investigation and report from CERT-In, which is the national nodal agency to deal with cyber security incidents.
CloudX cyber experts have claimed that prior to hacking the website, Phoenix had also organized voting on its telegram channel. This group of hackers, which is active since January 2022, primarily targets hospitals all across the globe. This group was also behind the cyber-attacks on the health organizations serving the US military, including the British and Japanese health services, and the website of Spain’s foreign ministry.
As per Phoenix, there are two major reasons behind this hacking. Firstly, the oil-price cap imposed on Russia by the G20 countries after the Russia-Ukraine war; and secondly, India, rather than opposing, supporting the recent restrictions on Russian oil by G-7.