Israel: hackers threaten to release medical information about Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu

17 August 2023; MEMO: Hackers have threatened to release sensitive medical information about senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel has reported. The hackers said that the information they got from a Haredi hospital is related to politicians and rabbis and they want millions of dollars not to release it. 

According to Israel Hayom, patients’ data was hacked into at Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Centre in Bnei Brak. The stolen information includes hundreds of thousands of documents containing private and confidential information, including some that relate to psychiatric care.

The newspaper also said that the hackers referred to Netanyahu, Knesset members, rabbinical leaders and well-known individuals in Haredi circles. Netanyahu was treated in 2015 at Mayanei HaYeshua for his prostate.

A hacker group called Ranger Locker targeted the hospital earlier this month and stole the information. The group, said the Times of Israel, is not known to be affiliated with any organisation or state.