University of Hawaii Cancer Center Ransomware Incident Affected Nearly 1.2 Million People
Summary
A ransomware attack on the University of Hawaii Cancer Center’s Epidemiology Division in August 2025 exposed research files containing sensitive personal information. The university is notifying potentially affected people and says clinical operations were unaffected.
Key points
- The attack affected systems supporting the Cancer Center’s Epidemiology Division; the university says clinical operations, patient care and student records were not affected.
- Compromised research files included names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, voter registration records and health information.
- The university reported that information potentially affected included 87,493 Multiethnic Cohort Study participants and approximately 1.15 million people in historical records.
- Attackers encrypted compromised systems, delaying restoration and investigation.
- The university said it paid the attackers for a decryption tool and for the secure destruction of information they had obtained.
- The university is notifying affected study participants and other potentially impacted individuals whose contact details were found.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- University of Hawaii Cancer Center
- Incident Type
- Ransomware attack and data breach
- Incident Date
- 2025-08-01
- Data Types Exposed
- Names
- Social Security numbers
- Driver’s license numbers
- Voter registration records
- Health information
- Affected Records
- Nearly 1.2 million individuals, according to the article; the university cited 87,493 potentially affected Multiethnic Cohort Study participants and approximately 1.15 million people associated with historical driver’s license and voter registration records.
- Operational Impact
- Compromised research systems were encrypted, causing extensive damage and delaying restoration and investigation. The university said clinical operations, patient care, and student records were not affected.
- Ransom Or Extortion
- The university said it paid the attackers to obtain a decryption tool and for the secure destruction of information they had obtained. The article does not confirm that the attackers destroyed the data.
- Claim Status
- confirmed