The hackers stole the administrative data of the hospital center of Vitre-le-François.
The Vitry-le-François hospital center (Marne) was the victim of a cyberattack.from abroad“concerning administrative data and letters to patients, accompanied by a ransom demand of 1.3 million dollars (i.e. 1.2 million euros) not to put them into circulation, we learned Friday with its officials.
Discovered on Tuesday, this cyberattack against the information system of the Territory Hospital Group (GHT) Coeur Grand Est, which includes nine establishments including that of Vitry-le-François, “consisted in copying essentially administrative computer data“, said the GHT in a press release. “To date, the applications and software used internally (…) remain operational” and “patient care continues“, Underlines the GHT, which isolated from Wednesday evening the computer system of each establishment.
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A complaint soon to be filed
According to Jérôme Goeminne, general manager of the group, the hackers stole 25 gigabytes of data, offered for purchase by the hospital for 1.3 million dollars. They threaten in case of refusal to lower the price and open the transaction to any interested person, and if the data has not been acquired, to put them into circulation on the darknet. “They have to understand that we won’t pay“said Mr. Goeminne. The GHT has indicated that it will file a complaint.
Among the stolen data are “social security numbers, letters to suppliers, bank details of suppliers and doctors, computer codes” and also “letters, probably between 100 and 200, addressed to patients“, specified the Director General. “The risk behind is to fake and use fake and phishing“, he added, “we have to be vigilant in the coming weeks with our partners and users in Vitry-le-François“.
According to him, the hackers were also able to infiltrate the Saint-Dizier hospital, “even if a priori they did not copy anything from it“.
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