Investigation into a death possibly caused by hacking

Data protection (Illustration).

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An investigation for manslaughter has been opened in Germany into the death of a patient after the hacking of a hospital in Düsseldorf, the Cologne prosecutor's office announced on Friday.

The Düsseldorf University Hospital (West) was targeted by a computer attack carried out a week ago by one or more hackers which notably paralyzed the ambulance services.

Unable to be admitted to this facility, a critically ill 78-year-old patient had to be taken care of in a more distant town, in Wuppertal, and eventually died, revealed the Düsseldorf hospital.

If it is not at this stage proven that the death is indeed linked to this lack of immediate care, the Cologne prosecutor's office has however opened an investigation for manslaughter.

Several attacks on research establishments

"We are checking if there is a criminal link between the hack and the death of this person," prosecutor Christoph Hebbecker told AFP.

Hackers exploited a "weakness in an application" to encrypt several servers, the hospital said Thursday, adding that the services were functioning normally again.

There was no ransom demand to stop the hacking, as has happened in other instances of hacking of public institutions.

Germany has seen several hacker attacks against research and higher education establishments in recent months, notably in Giessen, Cologne and Bochum.

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