Thibaud Hue with AFP 2:06 p.m., December 05, 2022
Two days after the start of the cyberattack on the Versailles hospital, the group of hackers demanded a ransom, the amount of which is currently unknown.
The management of the establishment, however, assured that it had no intention of paying it, pointing to a "new way of waging war".
The group of hackers who have been carrying out a cyberattack against the Versailles hospital center since Saturday evening have demanded a ransom.
"A ransom, the amount of which I do not know, has been requested but we do not intend to pay it", assured Richard Delepierre, co-chairman of the supervisory board of the establishment and mayor of Chesnay-Rocquencourt.
In France, public establishments never pay ransoms because the law forbids them to do so.
"We are facing a new way of waging war. This is not an isolated attack, it is an operation of the same nature as the attack on the Corbeil hospital", also indicated Richard Delepierre.
At the end of August, the South Francilien Hospital Center (CHSF) in Corbeil-Essonnes had been the victim of a computer hack similar to that which targets that of Versailles.
According to its co-president, emergencies are operating on Monday at "50%" and the maternity ward is "reduced to a third of its capacity", but "most of the appointments and day-to-day operations on an outpatient basis are carried out".
In all, six patient transfers have been organized since Saturday evening to establishments in the Ile-de-France region, including three adults from the intensive care unit and three newborns from the neonatology service.
"The care systems are not altered, only their networking", detailed Richard Delepierre, "so we need more caregivers in front of the machines".
"Daily attacks" on the health system
The André Mignot hospital has launched its white plan, partially deprogrammed the activities of the operating theater and "does everything possible" to maintain outpatient care and consultations, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) had detailed on Sunday.
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The Paris prosecutor's office has opened a preliminary investigation for attempted extortion, access and maintenance in a digital system implemented by the State, introduction of data and obstruction of this system, all in an organized gang.
The investigations were entrusted to the Center for the fight against digital crime (C3N) of the gendarmerie, which is leading the investigation and to the Sub-directorate for the fight against cybercrime (SDLC) of the judicial police.
“The health system is under daily attack” in France but “the vast majority of these attacks have been stopped”, Health Minister François Braun said on Sunday, after a visit to the hospital.