Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 26) — PhilHealth on Tuesday said it is coordinating with hospitals to ensure that its members continue to avail of their benefits and services as the government works on the ransomware attack that affected the state insurer on Sept. 22.
“We also have instructed hospitals to make temporary arrangements with our members on how to proceed,” PhilHealth senior vice president on health finance policy sector Israel Francis Pargas told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
PhilHealth last week was attacked by the Medusa ransomware. This is a type of malware that encrypts files and demands a ransom payment from the owner of the compromised device to receive the decryption key.
The attack gave hackers access to PhilHealth information which includes confidential memos and employee information. To prevent the malware from further spreading, PhilHealth decided to shut down its online system.
READ: DICT maintains no plan to pay PhilHealth hackers, expects leak of internal data
PhilHealth continues to operate manually, Pargas said. Those availing of PhilHealth services should bring their ID or a copy of their member data record so hospital personnel can verify their membership, he added.
