After the cyberattack that occurred in the middle of the weekend at the Armentières hospital center (CHA), the time has come for adjustments and the reopening of certain critical services, such as emergencies. Others remain under close surveillance this Tuesday.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, at 2:00 a.m., the Armentières hospital was the victim, like others before it, of a ransomware-type computer attack, pushing its teams to open a crisis unit at worst. moments: in the middle of the night, on a Sunday. The entire hospital center was impacted by the cyberattack, and it was the return of good old paper for the doctors, nurses and other members of the establishment’s staff. This Tuesday, February 13, the situation seems to be improving, even if everything is not resolved.
A cyberattack on a weekend, in the middle of the night
The attack obviously surprised everyone. But the message was clear, straight out of several of the printers on site. An hour after the cyberattack, around 3:00 a.m., the computers were all disconnected from the hospital’s main network, before the crisis unit was triggered at 5:40 a.m.
Initially, the CHA emergency rooms were closed for 24 hours. Finally, they only reopen this Tuesday at 4 p.m. That is more than 48 hours after the hacker attack. But at the start, we had to react quickly and warn everyone.
Unsurprisingly, as at the time, patient files were used in paper form, and vital emergencies were treated as a priority. The less urgent consultations and operations planned at the start of the week have been postponed. Meanwhile, the investigation continued.
More disruptions, more than 48 hours after the computer attack
Helped by their colleagues from the Lille University Hospital and members of ANSSI (the French cyber agency), computer scientists from Armentières hospital continued their investigative work at the beginning of the week, in order to list operational software , and those who are not.
Today, the patient admission and discharge software and that linked to patient data management are operational. Same thing for those allowing the proper functioning of emergencies and operating theaters, hence their reopening this Tuesday afternoon.
On the other hand, the software used in the laboratory, pharmacy and medical imaging of the establishment still remains under investigation. The machines work, but they still require human intervention, to preserve the safety of parents. The least urgent interventions remain unscheduled.
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