Hospital Simone Veil faced a cyberattack that led to disruptions

A major hospital in Cannes, France, the Hospital Simone Veil (CHC-SV), was under siege by a cyberattack earlier this week, causing significant disruption to its operations. The medical facility, renowned for its wide range of specialities and employing over 2,100 staff, including 230 doctors, became a victim of cyber warfare, compelling its workforce to resort to manual methods, abandoning their reliance on computers.

The CHC-SV, boasting an impressive capacity of 869 beds and attending to approximately 150,000 outpatient visits, 50,000 emergency room cases, 9,000 surgeries, and 1,500 births annually, was compelled to disconnect all computer systems, leaving only telephones functional for communication purposes.

 

Hospital Simone Veil assured everyone that the attackers had yet to demand anything from them.

 

While precise details of the Hospital Simone Veil attack remained undisclosed, the hospital assured that cybercriminals had made no ransom demands thus far. This medical institution has partnered with various security providers and law enforcement agencies to analyse the cyberattack and its potential implications, with ongoing investigations seeking to uncover data breaches or extortion attempts.

Despite the onslaught, critical departments, including emergency, medicine, surgery, obstetrics, geriatrics, paediatrics, psychiatry, home hospitalisation, and rehabilitation units, remained operational, although resorting to traditional pen-and-paper methods for data management. However, elective surgeries constituting about 30% of the hospital’s non-urgent procedures for the week were regrettably postponed, alongside the rescheduling of numerous non-urgent consultations.

Notably, consultations without computer systems for data access proceeded as scheduled. Reflecting on the unprecedented nature of the attack, the hospital administration highlighted their lack of experience in facing such cybersecurity threats. Still, it acknowledged the value of previous cyber exercises in containing the damage.

As efforts to restore the hospital’s patient care systems continue, the duration of this process remains uncertain, contingent upon the progression of technical investigations. As of now, no prominent ransomware or extortion groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, the potential compromise of sensitive patient data looms as a concern, with implications extending beyond the confines of the hospital to the broader populace of France.