- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva reported a large-scale cyber attack on Wednesday.
- The ICRC said the attackers had stolen the data of more than 515,000 people.
- ICRC Director General Robert Mardini urged the hackers not to release the data.
The attack compromised personal data and confidential information about more than 515,000 high-risk and vulnerable people, according to the ICRC. This includes people separated from their families due to conflict, migration and disasters, missing persons and their families and detained persons.
ICRC concerned about personal protection
Data came from at least 60 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world. The organization discovered the attack this week.
The ICRC is particularly concerned about the potential risks the attack poses to the people and their families whom the Red Cross and Red Crescent are trying to protect and support. In this way, confidential information could be disclosed to the public. The ICRC currently has no direct indication of who may have carried out the cyber attack.
The cyber attack is directed against an external company in Switzerland that has commissioned the ICRC to store data.
Urgent appeal to the hackers
The Director General of the International Red Cross, Robert Mardini, said on the ICRC website made an urgent appeal to the unknown hackers. “Your actions could potentially bring more suffering and pain to those who have already endured untold suffering. The people, the families behind the information you now have are among the least powerful in the world. Please do the right thing. Do not share, sell, leak or otherwise use this data.”
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International Red Cross Director-General Robert Mardini stressed that an attack on missing persons’ data would exacerbate the fears and suffering of the families involved.
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Affected systems had to be shut down
The Red Cross was appalled and stunned that this humanitarian information could be targeted and compromised: “This cyber attack endangers people who are already dependent on humanitarian aid even more,” said Mardini. The attack endangers the work of the Red Cross and of the Red Crescent trying to reunite family members separated by disaster, conflict and migration.
This cyber attack puts even more vulnerable people who are already in need of humanitarian assistance.
The ICRC was forced to shut down the systems needed for this. The organization is trying to find alternative solutions as soon as possible so that the work can continue.
According to the ICRC, there is still no evidence that dangerous information has reached the public. The International Red Cross is working closely with its humanitarian partners around the world to monitor the scale of the attack and take appropriate action to protect its data in the future.