Tonga's National Health Information System and its Ministry of Health's website were confirmed to be taken down by a ransomware attack on June 15, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
Millions worth of ransom had been demanded by the unnamed attackers to facilitate systems recovery, said Tonga Minister of Health Ana 'Akau'ola before the country's parliament on Thursday, when she also noted ongoing efforts to address the incident with the help of Australian cybersecurity experts. With the system's disruption hindering access to medical records, officials have called on people visiting all of the country's four hospitals to bring along their prescription cards. Such an intrusion comes months after neighboring Pacific island nation Palau had its Ministry of Health subjected to a Qilin ransomware attack. Tonga previously had its state-owned telecommunications provider compromised by the Medusa ransomware gang.
Millions worth of ransom had been demanded by the unnamed attackers to facilitate systems recovery, said Tonga Minister of Health Ana 'Akau'ola before the country's parliament on Thursday, when she also noted ongoing efforts to address the incident with the help of Australian cybersecurity experts. With the system's disruption hindering access to medical records, officials have called on people visiting all of the country's four hospitals to bring along their prescription cards. Such an intrusion comes months after neighboring Pacific island nation Palau had its Ministry of Health subjected to a Qilin ransomware attack. Tonga previously had its state-owned telecommunications provider compromised by the Medusa ransomware gang.
