Once cybercriminals start to drip-feed stolen HSE data online, fraud attempts will follow

Ireland has been on a heightened state of alert ever since shadowy hackers seized control of the Health Service Executive’s computer systems and threatened to dump confidential patient data on the dark web. The sudden and almost overwhelming focus on cybercrime has meant that every unexpected phonecall, text, WhatsApp message, email, Facebook friend request and all the rest now come with a side order of suspicion and even fear.

The grim reality is that all that suspicion and fear is with us for the long haul. With so much personal information compromised in the ransomware attack from the Wizard Spider criminal gang, the fear is that unsolicited contacts, requests for information, spam and phishing attacks will be with us for months if not years.

Gardaí have said they are expecting an “avalanche”…