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On April 16, the Simone-Veil hospital suffered a brutal cyberattack. LockBit, a fearsome group of hackers, has taken patient and employee data hostage. Faithful to its criminal methods, LockBit ordered the establishment to give them a ransom in cryptocurrencies with a deadline set for May 1. The hospital refused to give in to the blackmail, forcing LockBit to dump this confidential information on the dark web.
Immediate impact of the attack
Non-urgent surgical procedures have all been postponed, and queues are forming at reception, with appointment booking temporarily suspended. Management, visibly tested, announced the complete offline of the computer system. 350 servers and 1500 workstations were paralyzed. A real blow to the operation of the hospital.
The situation is improved compared to the beginning of the week and management indicated that “ activity has resumed its almost ordinary course ”. This act of resistance on the part of the establishment nevertheless caused catastrophic consequences: the compromise of sensitive data.
The leaked data was obviously very confidential: various health checks, patients' personal data, internal hospital information, employee identity cards and pay slips, etc.
Strengthening security protocols and legal repercussions
Faced with this digital assault, the response is being organized. A complaint was filed, alerting the competent authorities, the CNIL and ANSSI, in order to shed light on this malicious intrusion. A “ circumstantial return ” on the events is expected, carrying valuable lessons and concrete recommendations to strengthen hospital security.
However, concern remains. It must be said that LockBit hardly inspires serenity. This group is known for attacking important targets: emergency services, administrations (La Poste in 2022 for example), large companies, SMEs, schools or universities. Globally, it has more than 2,000 attacks to its credit since 2019, making it the most formidable hacker group in the world.
This group is the ultimate scourge of global cybersecurity. Despite the huge blow dealt to it by Operation Cronos in February of this year, LockBit proves that’ ;he is unfortunately still very much alive. The repercussions for the Simone Veil hospital could be very serious, both financially and legally. Its reputation is also at stake and it is very likely that the stolen data will be put up for sale on the dark web in the coming days or weeks.
- The Simone-Veil hospital was the victim of a cyberattack signed by the LockBit group on April 16.
- Refusing to pay the demanded ransom by the group, confidential data from the establishment was exposed on the dark web.
- The consequences for the hospital could be very important.
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