Dozens of Hospitals in Romania Under Ransomware Attack

Hospitals in Romania have reverted to using bygone methods of pen and paper after a ransomware attack affected hundreds of facilities.

Cyber security experts from the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) detected the attack on Sunday, 11 February, according to a statement released by the Romanian Ministry of Health.

“The incident is under investigation by IT specialists, including cyber security experts from the National Cyber ​​Security Directorate, and resumption possibilities are being assessed,” the authorities declared the following day.

“Also, exceptional prevention measures were activated for the other hospitals that were not affected by the attack,” they added.

So far, 25 hospitals – including children’s and emergency facilities – on the Hipocrate Information System have been affected by the attack, with a further 79 taken offline to avoid more damage.

According to reports, the hackers have demanded 3.5 Bitcoin (currently worth over £130 000) to unlock the encrypted files.

Fortunately, most of the hospitals have backed up their data, thus reducing the impact.

At the moment, the person or group behind the attack has chosen to remain anonymous. However, officials have been able to identify the type of malware used, which could lead to learning more about the party responsible.