A return to normal in the computer system of the Villefranche-sur-Saône hospital center (Rhône), targeted a week ago by a cyberattack, is expected in "
minimum 15 days or even several weeks
", said Monday the secretary of 'State of the digital transition Cédric O.
Read also: An epidemic of ransomware attacks affects French hospitals
“
Today the situation has been stabilized.
We have confined the cyberattacker (...) We are rebuilding the information systems by reconnecting all of the daily operating systems one by one
, ”he said during a visit to the North Hospital. West of Villefranche-sur-Saône - Gleizé, located about forty kilometers north of Lyon.
“
We should see most of the functions restart in the coming days.
In total, to return to normal operation, it will take a minimum of fifteen days or even several weeks,
”he added during a visit to the establishment alongside the Minister of Health Olivier Véran.
"
There have been 27 cyber attacks on hospitals in 2020 and since the start of 2021, it is one attack per week,
" added Cédric O, assuring that the government "
was going to ensure that the 135 hospital groups the most important in France (...) can increase their defense systems
”.
According to a ministerial press release, they will join the list of “
essential service operators
”, a status defined in 2018 which notably implies stricter security rules and notification to the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (Anssi) incidents occurring on the most critical systems.
And "
no IT project can now be supported by the State if a share of 5% to 10% of its IT budget is not dedicated to cybersecurity,
" said the press release.
An activity still very disrupted this Monday
Monday, the activity of the Villefranche-sur-Saône hospital was still very disturbed with employees who worked in “
degraded mode
”, that is to say with paper and pen, told AFP the direction of the hospital.
However, emergency and sub-emergency operations (note: in operating theaters) were "
always provided
".
"
Those who did that did not only attack an IT service, they endangered the lives of our fellow citizens
", for his part estimated the Minister of Health,
expressing
his "
disgust
" at such gesture and saluting the “
responsiveness
” of the personnel on the day of the attack.
"
The IT managers of the hospital in the middle of the night managed to make the right decisions to be able to protect the archives and prevent the cybervirus from spreading throughout all hospital structures
," said Olivier Véran, recalling that cybersecurity was “
Everyone's business
”.
He indicated that the State will deploy “
very quickly
” 350 million euros to strengthen the IT protection of French hospital groups, a sum taken from the “
digital envelope
” of the Ségur de la Santé.
Read also: Villefranche, Dax, AP-HP ... French hospitals are prime targets for cyberattacks
An investigation was opened Tuesday by the cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor's office after the attack by the Ryuk crypto-virus of the North West Hospital.
It follows a similar attack on the hospital in Dax (Landes) on February 9.
