First death caused by Cyber Attack

Since the start of the pandemic, you would think that hospitals would not be targeted by cyber attacks.  Between February and March 2020, malicious acts targeting this type of institution grew by 475%.

Hackers believed they would easily be paid. Unlike businesses, hospitals cannot be closed against ransomware. This situation has increased, but on the other hand, some have offered their services for free in case of infection by their virus.

We all have heard of several attacks on hospitals, but this case was different, and went too far. In a hospital in Düsseldorf, during a September night, a cyber attack led to the death of a man. It was the first time this had happened in Europe and probably in the world. The hospital had received ransomware which blocked the access to their database. They were not able to enter the patient information and history, so the hospital decided to move one patient in critical health to another hospital 30km away. The drive was lethal to the patient.
An investigation was opened for negligent homicide! The police went to talk to the hackers responsible for this case. They thought they were attacking a university, and didn’t know about the death! Right away, they released the network and disappeared. The police is still searching for them, in order to bring them to justice.

This situation reminds us that a hospital computer network cannot be left unsecured.
Often they forget to update the software and evaluate the devices that prevent their services from being corrupted. This type of protection carries a high cost, and not everyone can afford it. In France, only 1% of the budget is allocated to digital update, compared to northern countries which allocate 5-6%.
In conclusion, the cyber security crisis should be at the center of all discussions between the government and hospital administration.

[1] https://labs.bitdefender.com/2020/03/5-times-more-coronavirus-themed-malware-reports-during-march/

[2] https://www.acteurspublics.fr/articles/des-senateurs-sinquietent-de-la-vulnerabilite-informatique-du-systeme-de-sante-francais