An ICU doctor at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona speaks on the phone November 11, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. (Cesc Maymo/Getty Images)
MADRID — A ransomware cyberattack on one of Barcelona’s main hospitals crippled the center’s computer systems, canceling 150 non-urgent surgeries and testing up to 3,000 patients, officials say. said on Monday.
Sunday’s attack on a Barcelona hospital clinic shut down computers in the facility’s laboratory, emergency room and pharmacy at three major centers and several external clinics.
“We can’t predict when the system will return to normal,” hospital director Antoni Castells said at a news conference on Monday. I was hoping the system would be fixed sooner rather than later.
A statement from the Catalan regional government said the regional cybersecurity agency was working to restore the system. The agency said Monday that the attack was organized from outside Spain by a group called ‘Ransom House’.
Segi Marcén, the regional government’s telecommunications secretary, said the hackers had never asked for a ransom, but said the money would not be paid.
All written work is being done on paper, and the hospital is diverting new emergency cases to other hospitals in the city, according to the hospital’s press department. Spain’s state news agency EFE said the attack cut off access to patient records and communications between units.