Russian man arrested in connection with deadly London hospital hack

German police have detained a Russian man accused of being part of the Qilin cybercrime gang, whose attack on London hospitals in June 2024 caused significant disruption and is linked to a patient's death. This marks the first time a cyberattack has been directly attributed to a death.

The attack targeted Synnovis, a diagnostics and pathology provider, leading to disruptions in services across multiple London hospitals. This resulted in canceled operations and severe interruptions to blood transfusion services.

The detained suspect, a 28-year-old Russian identified by German press as Vladimir K., was arrested in Japan in May during a holiday trip. German officials state he is a core member of the Qilin group, which is suspected of hacking over 4,000 organizations since 2022 and extorting more than $140 million from victims.

In Germany, the man was initially wanted for a September 2024 hack of a logistics company. British authorities are now examining if their investigation could lead to a gross negligence manslaughter case related to the cybercrime, which would be a global first.

The Qilin group has been behind several other high-profile cyberattacks, including one on Japanese brewer Asahi in October 2025. In the Synnovis attack, the hackers claimed it was not just for financial gain but also a protest against the UK's lack of support in the war on Ukraine, a claim dismissed as an attempt to distance the group from its extortion tactics.