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Ransomware/Extortion/File 24-0624

Qilin Published Synnovis Data After the NHS Declined to Pay

Qilin published a large tranche of Synnovis material after the NHS declined to pay. Set against Change Healthcare, the two outcomes are the whole argument about payment in one year.

Constructed geometry · not a chart of case data
JurisdictionUnited KingdomLondonthe affected organisation’s jurisdiction, not the actor’s suspected origin
TargetSynnovis
ActorQilin
S. Rosler12 min readConfidence: medium3 sources reviewed

In late June 2024 Qilin published material taken from Synnovis, reported at around 400GB, after a ransom demand was not met. Patient-identifiable information was among it, and reporting has put the number of NHS patients potentially affected near one million.

Put The Two 2024 Outcomes Side By Side

Two decisions, one yearContemporaneous reporting; see 24-0301 and 24-0405
TimeEventEvidence
Change HealthcarePaid ≈$22m for decryption and suppressionConfirmed by the payer
OutcomeData extorted a second time by a different groupReported; see 24-0405
Synnovis / NHSDid not payReported
OutcomeMaterial publishedLeak-site posting, reported

One paid and the data circulated anyway. One refused and the data was published. The suppression half of a ransom demand did not deliver in either case, which is a stronger statement than the corpus has previously been able to make.

The Decryption Half Is A Different Question

A decryptor either restores systems or it does not, and it can be tested on the day. That is a real thing to buy, and the corpus does not argue against buying it.

What these two cases sit against is the second half — the undertaking that the stolen copy will be destroyed. Nothing in either outcome suggests that undertaking is worth anything, and the file at 25-0215 records that it has no enforcement mechanism to begin with.

The Volume Figure Comes From The Group

Around 400GB, and near a million patients potentially affected, are figures originating with the attacker and with early reporting rather than with a completed review. Synnovis has since worked through its own forensic process.

This desk grades the file medium for that reason. That publication happened is established; how much and about how many is not.

How we reported this

Compiled from contemporaneous reporting, listed below. The 400GB volume and the near-one-million patient figure originate with the attacking group and with early reporting; both are labelled as claims and neither is treated as established. The comparison with Change Healthcare draws on 24-0301 and 24-0405 and is an argument about the mechanism, not a recommendation about whether to pay. Graded medium. Corrections: corrections@forensicpost.com.

Sources
  1. Qilin releases Synnovis material after NHS refuses to payGIGAZINE
  2. Synnovis completes forensic investigation into NHS cyber attackDigital Health
  3. NHS pathology provider Synnovis notifies organizations affectedHIPAA Journal
S. Rosler
Covers extortion groups and leak-site economics. Verifies our sample sets.
// the chain of custody — tuesdays

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