Corbeil-Essonnes hospital paralyzed for more than 24 hours

Behind the facade of the Corbeil-Essonnes hospital (Essonne), black screens throughout the establishment. Non-life-threatening emergencies are referred to other hospitals. Since Sunday August 21, the hospital center has been operating in slow motion, paralyzed by a computer attack. A patient, being treated for cancer, had to leave without being able to do his scan on Monday. “Usually, it goes very quickly, because it’s computerized. (…) While there, they are forced to work by hand”, he explains. The staff must deal with the means at hand.

“We must rewrite, every day, the patient’s medication, all the prescriptions, (…) all the patient data”, explains Valérie Caudwell, president of the medical commission of the Center Hospitalier sud Francilien. The blackmailers demand a ransom of 10 million dollars to unlock the system. The request was written in English. The hospital will not pay. “No hospital has paid, and will not pay this kind of ransom”, assures Gilles Calmes, the director of the establishment. The investigation was entrusted to the gendarmes specialized in the fight against digital crimes. Operations could be deprogrammed within the week.