Gamers Raid Medical Server to Host Black Ops
A medical server was compromised to host a Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer server.
The Register reports that unknown hackers took control of a medical server storing sensitive patient information and created a dedicated multiplayer server for the just-released Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Although the breach was originally discovered on November 12, 2010, New Hampshire-based Seacoast Radiology told patients on Tuesday that the hacked server stored their names, social security numbers, medical diagnosis codes, addresses and other details. Currently there's no evidence of any misuse of the private information; however, patients were warned to keep an eye out for any foul play.
After discovering the breach, the medical group called in ID Experts to investigate. According to Lisa MacKenzie, a spokesperson for the firm, the hackers were located in Scandinavia however she did not provide details on how the firm came to that conclusion. Other details of the breach, including the weakness in security that allowed the hackers to take over, were also kept under wraps.
The November breach was discovered after an administrator noticed a huge drop in bandwidth. After the investigation, ID Experts reported the incident to the federal Department of Health and Human Services as well as the New Hampshire attorney general.
It's unclear how long the hackers had the Black Ops server up and running before the breach was discovered, however the security flaw was eventually tracked down and fixed.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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misry They should have made it a time limited server and only allowed operation from 1900 to 0600 local time. A hidden dir and a couple of nicely done scripts and no-one would have been able to detect it. Probably.Reply -
im_thelumberjack Why would you create a dedicated server over 4,000 miles away none the less hack one to play a game. The pings would be terrible.Reply -
nforce4max Ughhh euros -_- they should learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch and that they are not entitled to the services and property of others when it is not meant for their use. In this case hacking into a server that was for medical use.Reply -
Trialsking This is why developers do not like to create games with dedicated server support. They are doing it to protect medical information everywhere! Just say no to dedicated servers.Reply -
restatement3dofted nforce4maxUghhh euros -_- they should learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch and that they are not entitled to the services and property of others when it is not meant for their use. In this case hacking into a server that was for medical use.Reply
Hey, how's the view from up there?