Cyber attackers disrupt services at French hospital, demand $10 million ransom
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
Issued on: 23/08/2022 – 15:58
A hospital southeast of Paris has been targeted by a cyber attack, causing disruption to its services. Nurses are having to file data by hand. The hackers have demanded a $10 million ransom to unblock the system, but the hospital’s director says it will not pay.
The IT system at the hospital centre in Corbeil-Essonnes has been virtually paralysed by a cyber attack. Non-critical services have had to be directed elsewhere, and staff are now working with limited resources.
“Each day we need to rewrite patients’ medications, all the prescriptions, the discharge prescriptions,” said Valerie Caudwell, the president of the medical commission of the CHSF hospital. “For the nurses, instead of putting in all the patients’ data on the computer, they now need to file it manually from scratch.”
The hackers have demanded a $10 million ransom, but the hospital’s director says it won’t be paying up.
“You know the hospital would not pay, has not paid and will not pay this type of ransom,” said CHSF director Gilles Calmes.
Police specialising in cyber crime are investigating. Cyber attacks targeting hospitals in France have been increasing recently, with 380 last year, a 70 percent rise from 2020.
Click on the player to watch the report from our colleagues at France 2 and Joseph Keen.