Ransomware attack encrypts 30 servers at German hospital: 5 details

A hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany, was hit by a ransomware attack on Sept. 10, which encrypted 30 hospital servers, according to a Business Insider report.

Five details:

1. The hospital was unable to accept patients as a result of the attack and re-routed emergency patients to other care facilities.

2. The hacker exploited a weakness in a widely used add-on software.

3. The hospital's systems were shut down by the attack; local reports suggest the attacker targeted the hospital by mistake as the ransom note was addressed to Heinrich Heine University. The university is attached to the hospital.

4. After the police notified the hacker that they hit the hospital, the hacker ended the attack and gave over the decryption key to return the stolen data.

5. At least one patient was sent to another hospital 20 miles away where the patient died. Prosecutors are considering charging the hacker for negligent manslaughter.

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