Hackers shut down an important hospital in Barcelona – 150 surgeries postponed “All hope has died here”: helper reports from Aleppo

A cyber attack has largely paralyzed the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, ​​one of the largest and most important hospitals in the Spanish metropolis.

Due to the attack, 150 surgeries and about 3,000 patient appointments had to be canceled on Monday, the clinic management and spokesman for the Catalan regional government announced on Monday afternoon. In addition, radiation treatments for cancer patients were all cancelled. Urgent interventions would continue as usual and the emergency department at the university hospital was also in operation, it said.

The attack took place on Sunday, Catalan Secretary for Telecommunications and Digital Transformation, Sergi Marcén, said. It was complex and was conducted from abroad. The police of the Catalonia region, the Mossos d’Esquadra, have already launched an investigation together with Europol and Interpol. According to the initial findings, the hackers are also tapping patient data, but everything is still being analyzed, Marcén emphasizes.

The head of the Catalan cybersecurity authority, Tomàs Roy, suspects that the criminal hacker group “Ransom House”, known for ransom demands, is behind the attack. However, no claim has been received yet. Catalonia will not negotiate with the criminals and “will not pay a single cent,” Marcén told the newspaper “La Vanguardia”. (saw/sda/dpa)