Information Security News: Hacking of prescription database may lead to headaches

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/05/hacking-prescription-database-may-lead-headaches

By Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
May 8, 2009

The possible breach of a state electronic prescription drug data-base 
could have an ironic effect: promotion of prescription drug fraud and 
abuse, the very thing the system was set up to deter.

That suggestion came from outside experts Thursday as the FBI and State 
Police continued investigating last week's unauthorized intrusion on the 
Web site of the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program.

According to WikiLeaks, an open-government Web site, the intruder was a 
hacker claiming to have gained access to more than 35 million 
prescription records and demanding a $10 million ransom.

The statewide database was established in 2006 to combat prescription 
drug abuse, which is increasingly recognized as a national public health 
issue. Overdose deaths from prescription drugs now exceed those from 
illegal drugs.

[...]


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