Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Nidhi Khandelwal
Image courtesy; Daily Times
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has apprehended a group of people who hacked into the National Health Service of Ukraine’s (NHSU) information system and submitted bogus vaccination records for other people.
The actors enlisted the help of a team of doctors in the Sumy region, who offered to issue fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates for anyone willing to pay 3,000 hryvnias ($114).The actors were able to get their ‘clients’ to pass any COVID-19 vaccination checks that required QR code scans by hacking into the NHSU system and inputting bogus data.
The actors allegedly altered health records up to 200 times per month, according to Ukrainian authorities, however it is unknown how long this plan was carried out.Part 2 of Art. 361, part 3 of Art. 358 (unauthorised interference with the work of electronic computers and sale of falsified papers) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine are being used to prosecute the arrested individuals.
Ukraine’s government just introduced “Action,” a central information app where citizens may keep immunisation certificates and other important papers.The app’s purpose was to encourage the country’s adoption of smart ID technology and make forgeries obsolete.
BleepingComputer discovered a bogus “Action” programme being marketed on local Telegram forums last week that allowed users to create any certificate they needed to move freely or enjoy other benefits. Whereas the bogus “Action” has no effect on the NHSU database and will not pass QR code scans, it is ideal for “look” inspections while entering a public location.
Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s Prosecutor Chief, responded to the wave of fake vaccination certificates on her personal Facebook page.Fraudsters “should not expect any pity from her,” she cautions, and she emphasises that these offences are not small, and justice will not consider them as such.
