MUNCIE — A Muncie-based cancer services center’s servers were hacked last week in a ransomware attack.

Cancer Services of East Central Indiana – Little Red Door’s terminal server and backup drive were hacked and the all the agency’s data was stripped, encrypted and taken for ransom by an international cyberterrorism organization around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11. They got a ransom demand for 50 Bitcoins ($43,000) the next night.

The self-identified “dark web” organization threatened to contact family members of living and deceased cancer clients, donors and community partners. They made the demands first via text message to the personal cell phones of Little Red Door’s executive director, president and vice president, then with a form letter and several detailed emails.

The staff and Board of Directors notified those affected by the security breech, relaying directives from the FBI “not to open any suspicious email, link, to not engage with the cyberterrorists, not respond to ransom demands and report communication from them to the agency and/or law enforcement.” The FBI agents assigned to the agency’s case noted the unusual and pervasive nature of the attack, focusing on the contact made through personal cell phone numbers and noted the sudden surge in ransomware attacks.

On the heels of such cyberterrorism attacks, including the attack on Madison County’s servers, Executive Director Aimee Fant is working with the FBI and says that most of the agency’s data is in cloud storage.

She said in a written statement Little Red Door “will not pay a ransom when all funds raised must instead go to serving families, all stage cancer clients, late stage care/hospice support and preventative screenings.”

They expect to be running at full capacity again by the end of the week.

Little Red Door of Indianapolis, which is not affiliated with Cancer Services of East Central Indiana – Little Red Door, is not affected by the cyberattack.

Source: WTHR