Data of 515,000 People at Risk After ‘Sophisticated’ Hack of Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross said that personal data of 515,000 vulnerable people were compromised in a “sophisticated” hack.

The cyberattack targeted a contractor in Switzerland that stores Red Cross data. There’s no indication yet that the data was leaked or shared publicly.

The hack wasn’t a ransomware attack, in which attackers encrypt files and demand payment. The Red Cross doesn’t know who the hackers are or what their motives may be. The Red Cross hasn’t been contacted by the hackers.

The agency has been forced to shut down systems “affecting the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s ability to reunite separated family members,” according to a statement.

“We discovered the attack on January 18th when one of our cyber partners detected an anomaly in our system,” Red Cross spokesperson Crystal Ashley Wells said. “We then did a deep data dive together with that supplier to understand the full breadth and scope of the attack. We learned in that analysis that the first breach was on the 9th of November 2021.”

Red Cross officials have publicly asked the hackers to “not share, sell, leak or otherwise use this data.”

“An attack on the data of people who are missing makes the anguish and suffering for families even more difficult to endure. We are all appalled and perplexed that this humanitarian information would be targeted and compromised,” said Robert Mardini, the international agency’s director-general said in the statement. “This cyberattack puts vulnerable people, those already in need of humanitarian services, at further risk.”

The Red Cross said it had hired “highly specialized” firms to assist in recovering from the hack.

Photograph: A flag flies on top of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. Photo credit: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg.