Hackers steal personal information of 1.5 million patients, including PM Lee

Singapore

In the worst ever breach of personal data in Singapore, hackers have stolen information of 1.5 million patients, including that of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, by infiltrating the computers of the country's largest health group, the authorities said today.

The hackers infiltrated SingHealth and stole the health records, including the outpatient prescriptions of 160,000 people, from the period between May 1, 2015 and July 4, 2018, they said.

The data theft happened between June 27 and July 4. However, the hackers did not amend or delete the records, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Communications and Information said in a joint statement.

The SingHealth Patients' medical records, including past diagnosis, doctors' notes and health scans, were not affected, the release added. The hackers “specifically and repeatedly" targetted PM Loong's particulars, it said. The data stolen included the patients' names, National Registration Identity Card numbers, address, gender, race and date of birth, the ministries said, adding that they have not found evidence of a similar breach in other public healthcare IT systems.

Earlier in the day, in a press conference, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong apologised to the affected patients, while Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran vowed to get to the bottom of the breach.

Calling the attack "unprecedented", Gan said, "We must learn from this and emerge stronger and more resilient from this incident.”