美國醫院運營商稱遭中國黑客入侵

Community Health Systems, the US hospital operator, said that Chinese hackers have stolen private information about 4.5m of its patients, the largest number of accounts compromised in such an attack, adding to long-running tensions between the two nations over cyber crime.

美國醫院運營商“社區衛生系統公司”(Community Health Systems)表示，中國黑客竊取了它的大約450萬患者的私人信息。這是同類攻擊中迄今遭竊賬戶數量最大的，將進一步加劇美中兩國在網絡犯罪問題上的長期緊張。

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, the company said it believed its computer network was hacked in April and June this year.

該公司週一在提交給美國證交會(SEC)的申報文件中表示，它相信其電腦網絡在今年4月和6月遭到黑客侵入。

It said that forensic experts believe the attack was carried out by a China-based group using advanced malware and technology, though it did not specify the name of the organisation it believes is responsible for the hack.

該公司稱，刑偵專家認爲此次攻擊是由中國境內某個組織使用先進的惡意軟件和技術實施的，不過該公司並未說明據信發起此次攻擊的組織的名稱。

The theft is the largest of its kind in terms of the number of people affected, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, which has kept a list of breaches of unsecured protected health information since 2009.

根據美國衛生與公衆服務部(Department of Health and Human Services)的統計，就受影響的人數而言，此次信息失竊是同類事件中迄今規模最大的。該部保有一份自2009年以來受保護健康信息遭竊的清單。

The filing comes just months after the FBI warned that the healthcare industry is vulnerable to hacking due to lax cyber security systems.

就在幾個月前，美國聯邦調查局(FBI)警告稱，醫療行業很容易受到黑客入侵，原因是網絡安全系統鬆懈。

Community Health Systems operates or leases 206 hospitals in 29 states with approximately 31,100 licensed beds, making it one of the biggest US hospital groups.

社區衛生系統公司在美國29個州運營或租賃206家醫院，擁有約3.11萬持牌牀位，是全美最大的醫院集團之一。

The patients affected, who were referred or received services from doctors affiliated with the company in the last five years, are being notified and the group says that the incident will not affect its financial performance.

受影響的患者是過去5年裏被轉介至掛靠於該公司的醫生或從他們那裏得到服務的人士。該公司稱，正在通知這些患者，同時這起事件不會影響其財務業績。

In this case the Chinese group has taken patient identification data such as telephone numbers and social security numbers but not medical information, where the hackers have generally stolen intellectual property in the past.

在本案中，中國的那個黑客組織取得了患者的身份識別數據，如電話號碼和社保號碼，但沒有取得病歷信息，而過去中國黑客一般以知識產權爲竊取目標。

US officials have warned of a long-running Chinese campaign of industrial espionage that could threaten the country’s competitiveness, prompting the Obama administration to toughen its stance against hacking.

美國官員警告稱，中國正在進行一場長期的工業間諜活動，可能威脅美國的競爭力，這促使奧巴馬(Obama)政府對黑客活動採取更爲嚴厲的立場。

Earlier this year, the US filed criminal charges against five Chinese military officers, accusing them of economic espionage. And last month the US charged a Chinese businessman with hacking into the computers of defence contractors to steal information about military aircraft.

今年早些時候，美國對5名中國軍官提出刑事指控，稱他們從事經濟間諜活動。上月美國對一名中國商人提出刑事指控，稱其侵入防務承包商的電腦，竊取有關軍用飛機的信息。

Meanwhile, the Chinese view the US complaints as hypocritical. US tech companies have faced a crackdown in China following revelations by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that some US tech companies had co-operated with the NSA in spying.

與此同時，中國認爲美國的抱怨是虛僞的。自美國國家安全局(NSA)前合同工愛德華•斯諾登(Edward Snowden)爆料稱美國某些科技公司配合NSA從事間諜活動後，在華經營的美國高科技公司受到打壓。

Apple became entangled in the broader campaign against US tech companies earlier this month when China’s government banned its ministries and federal agencies from buying the company’s products.

本月早些時候，蘋果(Apple)被捲入針對美國高科技公司的更廣泛運動，中國政府禁止中央政府各部委和機構購買該公司產品。

Shares in Community Health Systems closed up 1.3 per cent on Monday at $51.66, having gained more than 25 per cent in the past six months.

社區衛生系統公司股價週一收漲1.3%，至每股51.66美元，過去6個月累計上漲逾25%。