The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday that a cyberattack on a contractor used by the group had leaked the personal data of more than 515,000 "high-risk groups," including those separated from their families by conflict and disaster, CNN reported.
The humanitarian group said the hack forced the Red Cross to shut down IT systems that support family reunification separated by conflict, immigration or disaster.
It's unclear who was responsible for the cyber incident, but the Red Cross said its "biggest concern" was that the data could be leaked. According to the ICRC, there is no indication that this has happened.
Robert Maldini, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement: "We are all shocked and confused that this humanitarian information will be targeted and leaked. ”
The humanitarian group said hackers attacked a company based in Switzerland and the Red Cross paid the company to store its data. The leaked data came from at least 60 "national associations," a network of Red Cross volunteers and staff around the world, which the Red Cross used as a first responder to the disaster.
Red Cross spokeswoman Elizabeth Shaw told CNN in an email: "As a first step, we will work with the most relevant Red Cross delegations and local Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to find ways to inform individuals and families whose data may have been compromised, what steps are being taken to protect their data and the risks they may be exposed to." ”
Shaw said the incident was not related to ransomware and that the Red Cross was working with "highly specialized" cybersecurity firms to deal with the hack.
Lukasz Olejnik, a former cyber warfare adviser at the headquarters of the Red Cross in Geneva, told CNN that the incident "appears to be the largest and most sensitive vulnerability in the history of the Red Cross, and given its sensitivity, it could be a vulnerability for all humanitarian organizations to date".
Olejnik, an independent cybersecurity adviser, told CNN that the ICRC should consider seeking help from governments that are parties to the Geneva Conventions to recover from cyberattacks.
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