Kokubu Seikyo Hospital: ransomware on its image server limits emergency and outpatient care

On 4 March 2024 Kokubu Seikyo Hospital in Kirishima, Kagoshima, said its image management server had been hit by ransomware from late on 27 February and could not operate normally. It kept treating patients while limiting emergency and general outpatient intake, and stopped internet connections across the hospital. Electronic medical records and billing work normally. Some PDF files of medical records were encrypted. With more than 30 TB of data the investigation is not finished, but the hospital reported to the Personal Information Protection Commission because a leak cannot be ruled out. A network device at the connection point of the outside maintenance line allowed remote desktop connections into hospital computers from outside without authentication, and the server had no antivirus software. The attackers made no specific ransom demand, and the hospital will not pay or negotiate.