The attack, which began overnight from Saturday to Sunday, forces the hospital to transfer patients requiring technical intervention to other establishments in Île-de-France.
The South Francilien Hospital Center (CHSF) in Corbeil-Essonnes is the victim of a computer attack which began in the night from Saturday to Sunday around 1 a.m., seriously disrupting its activity, in particular in the emergency room and in surgery, according to a press release from the establishment, confirming information from RMC. A ransom demand of 10 million dollars, formulated in English, was demanded by the hacker or hackers, revealed a police source to AFP.
An investigation for intrusion into the computer system and for attempted extortion in an organized gang has been opened to the cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor’s office. The investigations were entrusted to the gendarmes of the Center for the Fight against Digital Crime (C3N), added the prosecution.
The Essonne hospital launched a white plan on Sunday. This attack makescurrently inaccessible to all hospital business software, storage systems (including medical imaging) and the information system relating to patient admissions“, said the establishment in a press release. The National Authority for Security and Defense of Information Systems (ANSSI) has beenquickly seized by the crisis unit“, he added, detailing thereafter the modes of care for the patient. According to a close source,a ransomware family has been identified“.
Patients referred to other hospitals
Patients whose care requires access to the technical platform are redirected to public hospitals in Île-de-France. Those presenting spontaneously to the emergency roomare assessed and then possibly sent to the medical care center of the Sud Francilien hospital center“, According to the press release.
For patients hospitalized at CHSF, “the medico-technical departments (in particular medical biology) are able to work in short-term in degraded mode“. The establishment “makes every effort to maintain outpatient care“, he promises, but”on the other hand, this exceptional situation should have an impact on the activity of the operating room“. “This attack does not impact the operation and security of the hospital building“, reassures the hospital center which specifies that”all the networks remain in operation (telephone with the exception of fax, automated distribution flows, etc.).»
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Contacted by AFP, the management did not wish to comment on this text. In April 2022, a cyberattack against the information system of the Groupement Hospitalier de Territoire (GHT) Cœur Grand Est had affected nine establishments and last March, a hospital in Ajaccio had also been the victim of a “ransomware cyberattack“.
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