{"id":596030,"date":"2026-07-21T02:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T02:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/596030\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T02:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T02:16:15","slug":"healthcare-giant-abbott-probes-two-cyber-incidents-amid-extortion-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/596030\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthcare giant Abbott probes two cyber incidents amid extortion claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abbott Laboratories, one of the world\u2019s largest healthcare and medical device companies, is investigating two apparently unrelated cyber incidents after confirming unauthorized access to internal systems. While Abbott says there has been no impact on manufacturing, laboratory operations, or patient care, cybercriminal groups ShinyHunters and ShadowByt3$ claim the breaches were far more extensive. Those claims remain unverified at the time of writing and, so far, unsupported by publicly leaked data.<\/p>\n

The incidents reportedly<\/a> involve Abbott\u2019s Cancer Diagnostics business and its LabCentral customer portal for core laboratory diagnostics.<\/p>\n

According to a statement released by Abbott on July 16<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAbbott is investigating a cyber incident in which there was unauthorized access to a limited number of internal systems in our Cancer Diagnostics business only. This does not impact any business operations, product or product availability, manufacturing or lab operations, or our ability to serve patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Regarding LabCentral, Abbott told reporters<\/a> that it is an externally hosted portal and that there has been \u201cno known exposure of sensitive customer or business information.\u201d<\/p>\n

ShinyHunters told BleepingComputer<\/a> it stole internal documents, contracts, customer information, more than 22 million doctor\u2011patient notes, over 20 million medical orders, and more than one million US Social Security numbers, along with personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, addresses, dates of birth, emails, and phone numbers.<\/p>\n

On July 18, ShinyHunters gave Abbott until July 21 to respond before leaking the alleged data:<\/p>\n

\"ExtendedExtended deadline<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is a final warning to reach out by 21 July 2026 before we leak along with several annoying (digital) problems that\u2019ll come your way. Make the right decision, don\u2019t be the next headline\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The threat of \u201cdigital problems\u201d is a familiar one from ShinyHunters. During the Canvas attacks<\/a>, the group defaced school login pages and the Canvas app with an on\u2011screen ransom message.<\/p>\n

Separately, ShadowByt3$ claims it accessed the LabCentral portal on July 4, using compromised customer credentials plus a \u201cweak point\u201d in the environment, allegedly exfiltrating technical documentation, manufacturing certificates, operating manuals, technical specs, and regulatory docs for Abbott lab systems.<\/p>\n

If the attackers\u2019 claims prove accurate, the breach could affect healthcare providers that use Abbott\u2019s diagnostic systems and potentially expose sensitive patient and healthcare data. Abbott, however, says it has found no evidence that sensitive customer or business information was exposed through the LabCentral incident and has not confirmed any patient data was compromised.<\/p>\n

What we can reasonably assume to be true<\/p>\n