Belgian hospital AZ Monica shuts down servers after cyberattack

Belgian hospital AZ Monica was forced to shut down all servers, cancel scheduled procedures, and transfer critical patients earlier today due to a cyberattack.

The hospital, which operates campuses in Antwerp and Deurne, disconnected all servers at 6:32 AM after its systems were hit.

The cyberattack also forced the hospital to suspend all scheduled procedures on Tuesday, as the emergency department continues to operate at reduced capacity, even though emergency medical services and intensive care transport units remain offline.

“Due to this situation, no scheduled procedures are possible today. We have informed all patients. The Emergency Department is operating at reduced capacity. The Emergency Department (MUG) and Intensive Care Unit (PIT) services are currently not operational,” the hospital said in a press statement.

“Urgent treatment is continuing and of course the patients that were already at the hospital are still being treated. However, non-urgent consultations are being postponed for the time being because we can’t retrieve the information contained on the patients’ digital medical files,” spokeswoman Sofie Braem told VRT News.

Seven patients who required critical care were transferred to other hospitals with Red Cross assistance. Hospital officials added that all remaining patients are staying at AZ Monica and receiving necessary care, but warned that registration procedures for new patients will be slower, since employees “have to register a lot of things on paper.”

The hospital has also notified relevant authorities and said that the police and prosecutors are now investigating the cybersecurity incident. It also noted that it continues monitoring the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

“The focus of AZ Monica remains undiminished on the safety and continuity of care for our patients. AZ Monica will continue to monitor the situation closely and will communicate further updates as soon as there is more clarity,” it added.

AZ Monica did not specify the nature of the incident or indicate whether it involved ransomware, a common threat targeting healthcare organizations worldwide, seeing that they often store sensitive patient data, making them attractive targets for double-extortion attacks.

However, according to local media, unconfirmed reports from within the hospital suggest the attackers might have demanded a ransom, but these claims are yet to be confirmed by hospital officials and the public prosecutor.