Several healthcare facilities have been hit by recent attacks: in February, the Armentières facility had 18 GB of data published after its servers were encrypted, and in May, the Simone Veil Hospital in Cannes suffered a similar attack, with 61 GB of data leaked. In 2023, reports of ransomware attacks increased, with healthcare organisations accounting for 10 per cent of victims, according to ANSSI.
A report by CERT Santé records 32 ransomware attacks in 2023, which caused serious disruption to certain organisations. France is the European country most affected by these cyber threats, but only 27 per cent of healthcare organisations have a ransomware protection programme in place.
The consequences are severe, with medical data being sold on the dark web. Pierre-Antoine Failly Crawford of Varonis states that a single patient record can fetch 300 euros. However, an increasing number of organisations are refusing to pay ransoms, preferring to restore their systems from backups. CERT Santé notes that healthcare organisations are stepping up their cybersecurity efforts, with a commitment to strengthening their defences.
Credit: Le Monde Informatique