Polish Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski announced on Wednesday a major medical data breach that affected nearly 19 million citizens, according to broadcaster TVP World.
Gawkowski said data belonging to almost 19 million Poles had been leaked in an “unprecedented” cyberattack targeting online patient records on a platform that is one of the country’s largest providers of confidential medical records used by doctors and clinics.
“As confirmed by the company itself, 19 million records were stolen, containing various types of data that can be linked together," Gawkowski said.
He noted that cybersecurity services were working to establish how the incident occurred and that the government was taking steps to secure all information related to the breach.
Gawkowski reaffirmed that there were currently no indications that the data was stolen as a result of an attack by another country.
“Nobody will negotiate with anyone,” he added. “Nobody will give in to any blackmail."
