Healthcare is a common target for hackers looking to make a profit off of the personal information of others. After all, hospitals and healthcare organizations store large amounts of  data, often including sensitive information and insurance records, which cyber criminals can utilize in any number of ways. As such, it comes as little surprise to see around 655,000 healthcare records up for sale on the darknet.

The data seems to be from three different breaches, according to HIPAA Journal. According to the hacker selling the data sets, they come from organizations in Missouri, Georgia, and an unspecified area in the Midwest United States.

One database, stolen from Farminton, Missouri, contains nearly 45,000 patient records, while the one from the Midwest held over 207,000 records. The hacker’s posting claims all that it took to steal those were plaintext usernames and passwords, which were easily accessible, and the latter’s network was “severely misconfigured.”

However, the database stolen from an Atlanta, Georgia-based organization is larger than the two of them put together, with nearly 400,000 patient records, including records from Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare members.

The data was stolen by exploiting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which tech support companies often use to remotely access computers. Softpedia notes that there was a particular bug in the system, which the hacker managed to utilize for his infiltration. Once the hacker had access to the systems, it was just a matter of searching the network until he found the valuable data.

While the hacker initially contacted the companies and offered to give them the details of the bug for a price (a tactic called “bug poaching”), the companies refused.

Now, the information is all up for sale. Each is being offered separately, but the hacker is stating that only one copy of each will be sold. In total, the price for them all would come to over 1000 Bitcoin, or somewhere around $682,110.

The stolen information includes basic personal information such as names, addresses, and emails, as well as vital information such as Social Security numbers and insurance information, making it a valuable target for anyone looking to commit identity theft. Anyone potentially impacted by this breach has been informed, and should take steps to protect their credit and identity immediately; it won’t take long before the hacker finds a buyer.

Image via Intel Free Press