01/12/2026

Hackers Accessed University of Hawaii Cancer Center Patient Data; They Weren’t Immediately Notified

Security Week

Social Security numbers and other personal information from participants in a University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center study were exposed to computer hackers in August but four months later UH had yet to notify those affected that their data was stolen.

UH outlined the ransomware attack in a report to the Legislature in December, which appears to be later than required by state law and lacked required information.

UH officials declined an interview request and have refused to provide key information, including which cancer research project had been affected, how many participants’ Social Security numbers were exposed and whether — or how much — UH paid the hackers to regain access to Cancer Center research files.

It’s also unclear how UH ensured the hackers destroyed their copies of the purloined data.

The report indicates that the hackers broke into Cancer Center servers, encrypted files related to a cancer study and demanded payment for a program to decrypt the files.