Hospitals targeted by LockBit ransomware attack in Germany

BleepingComputer reports that emergency care operations at three hospitals across Germany were confirmed by the Katholische Hospitalvereinigung Ostwestfalen hospital network to have been disrupted following a LockBit ransomware attack against the hospitals' IT infrastructure on Christmas Eve morning. Infiltration of the IT systems was followed by data encryption activities, resulting in immediate systems shutdown to avert further compromise, according to KHO. "A first test showed that it is probably a cyberattack by Lockbit 3.0, the resolution time of which is currently unforeseeable," said KHO in a machine-translated announcement. Despite the continued absence of emergency care at Franziskus Hospital Bielefeld, Mathilden Hospital Herford, and Sankt Vinzenz Hospital Rheda-Wiedenbruck, all clinic operations and patient treatment in the affected hospitals were not impacted. Additional details regarding the incident remain uncertain as the LockBit ransomware operation has not yet included KHO in its list of victims on its dark web site.