Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the collapse of the appointment system at Wuhan Children's Hospital due to the exploitation of software developed by "scalpers" to illegally secure medical appointments, leading to legal consequences for the perpetrators [1][2][3]. Group 1: Incident Overview - On July 5, 2024, the appointment system of Wuhan Children's Hospital experienced a 45-minute outage, preventing patients from making reservations through the official WeChat mini-program [1]. - The system was overwhelmed by a surge in access requests, with the hospital's system designed to handle up to 100,000 visits but facing actual traffic in the hundreds of thousands [2]. - The hospital reported that three patients successfully booked appointments for the same specialist, indicating the use of malicious software to monopolize appointment slots [2][3]. Group 2: Perpetrators and Their Methods - Nine individuals from four groups were convicted for crimes related to the disruption, with sentences ranging from 10 months to 1 year and 1 month [1][3]. - The software developed by the scalpers could refresh and click to secure appointments at a rate of 100 times per second, significantly outpacing the manual efforts of regular patients [4][5]. - The groups involved had distinct roles, including software development, operation, and reselling of appointment slots, with some members being IT professionals and graduates from prestigious universities [3][6]. Group 3: Financial Implications - The scalpers charged patients a markup ranging from 50 to several hundred yuan for appointment slots, with some selling at prices between 120 and 600 yuan [6][7]. - The illegal activities not only generated significant profits for the scalpers but also severely impacted the ability of regular patients to access necessary medical care [7][8]. Group 4: Legal Consequences and Recommendations - The court ruled against the scalpers, confiscating their illegal gains and imposing prison sentences, with the totality of their actions deemed as a serious disruption to the hospital's operations [8][9]. - Following the incident, recommendations were made to improve the security of the hospital's online appointment system, including limiting access frequency and implementing advanced verification methods [9].

Core Insights - The Nanjing police have dismantled three illegal hacker groups involved in infiltrating hospital registration systems, highlighting a significant issue of scalping in healthcare services [1][2] - The investigation revealed that certain payment accounts had over 5,000 transaction records in a year, indicating abnormal activity compared to typical patient behavior [1] - The hacker groups utilized advanced software to secure appointments at an unprecedented speed, averaging just 0.02 seconds, which severely disadvantaged regular patients [2] Group 1: Criminal Activities - The primary target identified was a group led by an individual named Cao, who developed software specifically for quickly securing hospital appointments [2] - The operation involved a tiered structure where "first-level scalpers" coordinated with "second-level scalpers" to connect with patients in need of appointments [2] - Some expert appointments were reportedly sold for over 1,000 yuan, showcasing the lucrative nature of this illegal activity [2] Group 2: Law Enforcement Actions - A total of 22 suspects have been apprehended, with 18 facing compulsory measures and 4 receiving administrative penalties [3] - The police's investigation included analyzing over 40,000 registration records from hospitals to identify patterns of abnormal payment activities [1][2] - The operation to capture the suspects took place in multiple provinces, including Henan and Anhui, indicating a widespread issue [1]