This new budget envelope aims to accelerate the deployment of the hospital security plan started in 2021.
French hospitals have been the target of particularly severe cyberattacks for many months now, paralyzing health services.
A large-scale attack that paralyzes the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital
On August 20, the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital in the Paris region suffered a major computer attack which brought to its knees the various software used by the practitioners but also the establishment’s internet access.
Doctors and nursing staff are forced to go back to paper for the follow-up of their patients while those requiring significant monitoring have been transferred to other establishments. The return to normal is not expected for several months.
This situation is not unprecedented. Since 2021, 733 security incidents including around 100 cyberattacks have targeted 582 French hospitals. If the threat seems to be slowing down in this year 2022, it is still serious enough for the government, which wishes to accelerate the security of the IT systems of healthcare establishments.
A budget of 20 million released which could be insufficient in the face of threats
Visiting the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital, François Braun, the new Minister of Health, announced a new budget envelope of 20 million euros, which is added to the 18 million euros devoted to this mission during the Ségur de la santé in 2021. “ The health of the French will not be held hostage “, adds the minister.
The Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition, Jean-Noël Barrot, in turn indicates that this sum will make it possible to “ almost double the number of health establishments that will benefit from this security pathway “. 130 establishments have already started reviewing their computer systems with the National Information Systems Security Agency and will very soon be updating their equipment.
Not sure, however, that this sum is sufficient to modernize all French hospitals. Experts in the field point out that the computer equipment set up in establishments is often obsolete and that there is a lack of cybersecurity experts. The latter prefer to work in the private sector at salaries much higher than those allowed by the limited budgets allocated to hospitals.
Source : The echoes
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