A French hospital, the Versailles Hospital (Yvelines), has been targeted since Saturday evening by a cyberattack which is disrupting its activity. A crisis unit was launched and the reception of patients was restricted.
- This is not the first attack of this type in France.
- A little over 3 months ago, on August 22, 2022, the South Francilien Hospital Center (CHSF) in Corbeil-Essonnes, frequented by nearly 700,000 inhabitants of the greater Parisian crown, was the target of another cyberattack.
- The health facility had experienced major disruptions for several weeks, before returning to near-normal operation around mid-October.
After the South Francilien Hospital Center (CHSF) in Corbeil-Essonnes at the end of August, a new cyberattack affected the French hospital system this Saturday evening. The Versailles hospital (Yvelines), located in Chesnay-Rocquencourt, was targeted, causing a disruption of its activity. Following this, the reception of patients was “limited”, as the management of the establishment informed AFP on Sunday, confirming the revelations of franceinfo. The computer system was cut and a crisis unit opened, the hospital said.
The hospital went into data protection mode after the cyberattack
According to management, the cyberattack targeted the entire establishment, including the André-Mignot hospital, which includes all short-stay and outpatient services. Interviewed on BFMTV, the Minister of Health François Braun specified that the cyberattack had “no immediate impact” on the establishment’s activity and that patient transfers were not “not considered at the moment”. The hospital has “put in data protection mode”added the minister, explaining that the rapid detection had made it possible to “implement all protective measures”.
According to François Braun, the Samu “is not reached” by the attack. The operation of the Samu is indeed not disturbed and no transfer has been made, confirmed a police source to AFP. However, the hospital is operating in degraded mode and the emergencies are closed except for people who present themselves spontaneously, according to this source.
An investigation has been opened by the Versailles prosecutor’s office
“The Versailles prosecutor’s office has divested itself in favor of the Paris prosecutor’s office”, who has opened an investigation, for his part told AFP the Paris prosecutor’s office, without mentioning the offenses targeted. The investigations were handed over to the Center for the fight against digital crime (C3N) of the gendarmerie and to the Sub-directorate for the fight against cybercrime (SDLC) of the judicial police, specifies the prosecution. To be continued.
