American sentenced to seven years in prison after major hack at healthcare institution

• 19 October, 2021
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A 30-year-old American has been sentenced to seven years in prison for hacking into a healthcare facility in the United States in 2014, the US Department of Justice reported Monday.

The hack at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in the state of Pennsylvania took place in late 2013. With more than 90,000 employees in 40 hospitals and 700 doctor’s offices and outpatient clinics, UPMC is the state’s largest healthcare provider.

The man stole personal data from more than 65,000 employees and sold it on the dark web, a protected part of the internet. He stole names, addresses, Social Security numbers and payslips from employees.

Fraudsters who bought the data then filed tax returns under the identities of the people whose data it belonged to. With this they stole more than 1.5 million dollars (almost 1.3 million euros) in 2014. They then converted that amount into gift cards from the Amazon web store.

“The actions of cybercriminals like the convict can have long-lasting and devastating consequences for the lives of innocent people,” said Yury Kruty, the detective who led the investigation into the hack. “The convict carried out his plan without regard for his victims.”