Cancer Center Research Study Hack Affects 1.2M

Health Researchers Often Overlook Security of Historical Datasets Marianne Kolbasuk McGee (HealthInfoSec) • March 4, 2026

A ransomware attack on the University of Hawaii Cancer Center's epidemiology division last August affected 1.2 million individuals, including personal information of certain research study participants dating back more than 30 years.

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The cancer center, which disclosed the incident in January, said in a notice posted Friday the cyberattack exposed records containing Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers collected in 2000 from the Hawaii Department of Transportation, and from city and county of Honolulu voter registration records collected in 1998.

At the time, identifiers used for driver's licenses and ...