Security firm CEO accused of hacking Georgia hospital system for cash, feds say
The CEO of a network security firm accused of hacking a Georgia hospital’s computer system did it for “his own person gain,” federal authorities say.
Vikas Singla, 45, was indicted Tuesday in connection with the 2018 cyberattack on two Gwinnett Medical Center hospitals in Lawrenceville and Duluth, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Georgia’s Northern District.
Singla, who headed a metro-Atlanta security company serving the health care industry, allegedly caused widespread disruptions to the hospitals’ phones and network printers, prosecutors said. A grand jury indictment charged him with 17 counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and a count of obtaining information from a protected computer.
The attack was motivated by “financial gain,” according to prosecutors, but it’s unclear if Singla was paid.
“This cyberattack on a hospital not only could have had disastrous consequences, but patient’s personal information was also compromised,” Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are determined to hold accountable, those who allegedly put peoples health and safety at risk while driven by greed.”
Singla pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges, court documents show. He was released Tuesday on an unsecured $20,000 bond and is due back in court June 23.
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