The servers of a private multi-speciality hospital in Ahmedabad have fallen victim to a ransomware attack, as revealed by local authorities. The hackers responsible for the attack are demanding a ransom of $70,000 in Bitcoin to restore the hospital’s encrypted data.
The incident came to light when K D Hospital, located on the outskirts of the city, filed a complaint with the police, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) for extortion at Bopal police station on Tuesday. According to Inspector A P Chaudhari, the hackers made their demands known through an email, which also included an offer of a discount if the hospital agreed to comply with their demands.
The attack was discovered during the early hours of May 13 when night-shift supervisors noticed that the hospital’s computers and servers were not functioning properly, as mentioned in the FIR. Subsequently, the hospital’s IT head arrived at the scene and determined that a ransomware virus had been installed by the hackers, effectively encrypting all of the hospital’s data, including patient records.
In their communication, the hackers informed the hospital staff that all the files had been encrypted and subsequently downloaded onto their servers. The hospital received an email on May 13 demanding a ransom in Bitcoin. Another email was received in the early hours of Tuesday, offering a discount on the ransom amount if the hospital agreed to make the payment, according to the FIR.
The authorities are now investigating the incident, and the hospital’s administration is evaluating its options in response to the hackers’ demands.
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