UK health officials say patient's death partially down to cyberattack
(Fixes typo in headline)
By Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A cyberattack last year against British diagnostic services provider Synnovis contributed to the death of a London hospital patient, British health officials said, providing one of the first confirmations of a death tied to hacking activity.
The patient at King's College Hospital in south London died in part because the hack caused a "long wait" for blood test results as well as other factors, the hospital's managing body said on Wednesday, without identifying what they were.
The hospital said the patient's family had been informed but did not provide other details.
Synnovis' CEO Mark Dollar said in a statement Wednesday: "We are deeply saddened to hear that last year's criminal cyberattack has been identified as one of the contributing factors that led to this patient's death."
In the June 2024 hack - attributed to the Qilin ransomware gang - media reports said attackers demanded $50 million from Synnovis for its data. The company did not pay, and the stolen data was later published on the dark web, reports said.
The attack disrupted the U.K. healthcare network, and snarled operations at some of London's busiest hospitals.
In January Synnovis said the hack led to more than 32 million pounds ($43 million) in costs.
Medical services providers have been hard hit by ransomware as hackers suspect they will pay quickly to avoid interruptions to healthcare.
Deaths have been tied to past ransomware incidents, including a baby in Alabama in 2019 and a 78-year-old woman in Germany in 2020, although direct causation can be difficult to establish.
The Qilin hackers did not respond to a request for comment on the death.
News of the U.K. death was first reported by British healthcare publication HSJ.
($1 = 0.7323 pounds)
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