Hackers steal data from hospital, then apologize to patients — and offer them $2,500. But they're keeping the data

“To any patient that was affected, please provide us proof, and we will pay you up to $2,500 each for the inconvenience,” the group wrote. “We are sorry once again. We have morals and we have a heart, we are not villains, but we will still continue to hold companies responsible for bad security leading to the compromise of any customer data.”

Even so, “we are still going to keep the data,” hackers said.

A wider hack

The hospital, which houses New Mexico’s only Level I trauma center — offering the highest level of comprehensive emergency and surgical care — was compromised as part of a larger hack on the UNM Health Sciences Center. That impacted classes at the School of Medicine,

College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and College of Population Health. Research activities and clinical operations were also impacted. UNM did not classify the event as a ransomware attack.

The hackers, though, in a post made prior to the apology, claimed to have personal information, including Social Security numbers for every student and employee. “This is your entire network and infrastructure compromised, the entire university COMPLETELY,” the group reportedly wrote.

Despite the group’s apology, UNM is warning people to not interact with the group, even with the promise of cash.

“Following a cybersecurity incident, those responsible may attempt additional scams, including false offers of payments or compensation,” the university wrote in a social media post. “Do not respond to or engage with anyone claiming responsibility for this incident. Do not click links, open attachments, download files or provide personal or financial information.”