Cyberattack hits major Barcelona hospital

The Hospital Clinic de Barcelona was the target of a ransomware cyberattack on 5 March.

It affected the centre’s computer system and forced 150 non-urgent operations and up to 3,000 patient check-ups to be cancelled.

Hospital director, Antoni Castells, said on Monday: ”We can’t make any prediction as to when the system will be back up to normal.” The hospital’s contingency plan allows it to continue to function for several days, but he’s hopeful the system would be fixed sooner than this.

The Catalonia regional government said the region’s Cybersecurity Agency was already working to restore the system. The agency said the attack was organised and orchestrated outside of Spain by a group called ‘Ransom House’.

Secretary of Telecommunications and Digital Transformation at the Government of Catalonia, Sergi Marcén, said that hackers hadn’t made any ransom demand so far, but that no money would be paid.

The hospital confirmed that all written work was being done on paper, with new urgent cases diverted to other hospitals in the city. Spanish state news agency, EFE, said the attack cut off access to patient records and communication between units.

Healthcare organisations are particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, more than many other industries in the UK.