Alleged perpetrator of the attack on the Extremadura Health Service app arrested in Mérida

The National Police has arrested the alleged perpetrator of the cyberattack against the Centro de Salud Online (CSOnline) app of the Extremadura Health Service (SES), according to the Regional Government of Extremadura. The SES detected the attack on October 5 and it affected 18,416 users, about 1% of the total, with "unauthorized access to clinical information," according to the regional government. The president of Extremadura, María Guardiola, is among those affected.

According to Gaceta Médica, the arrest took place in Mérida and officers recovered more than 334,000 health records held by the detainee, including year of birth, patient code, personal file and attached documents, as well as a database with medical histories. The attacker allegedly carried out massive, automated access from an anonymous virtual server abroad with the intention of selling the data, according to that outlet.

The regional government says healthcare services did not stop working, that the point of entry has been identified and corrective measures applied, and that the incident was reported to the Spanish Data Protection Agency and to CCN-CERT. The police investigation has detected that other public administrations were affected, which have not been identified. The regional government urges people to be wary of messages or calls asking for passwords, codes or health data.

Story under review: the regional government's statement is dated October 29, shortly before the period covered by this edition, and we have not been able to open a statement from the National Police. The date of the arrest, the identity of the detainee and which other administrations are affected are not known.