The computer system outage at the FZOM public healthcare fund is clearly more serious than initially thought. The system has been down for a week, and it has disrupted issuing of prescriptions, arranging specialist appointments, and now also the payment of salaries in the public healthcare.

Reports are now spreading that the FZOM data system was hacked and encrypted – and that the hackers are demanding a ransom to be paid out in crypto currency before they will allow FZOM to access the data again. This is one of the most detailed databases in the country – on top of the medical records for most citizens it also contains many private data points that can enable identity theft.
Temporarily, the Finance Ministry will arrange direct transfers of money to doctors, nurses and the myriad of FZOM contractors, to avoid unrest over unpaid salaries, but the damage from the unavailable and likely stolen data could be long lasting.

Hackers are blackmailing the Kovacevski Government to give us back our public healthcare information. Only years after SDSM lied to the citizens that they will provide them with free healthcare services anywhere in the EU, our own public healthcare system is in a state of collapse, said the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party in a statement.