Woman dies following Dusseldorf hospital ransomware attack

German authorities are trying to track down hackers who held a university hospital to ransom and may have contributed to a woman’s death.

Hackers who held a hospital to ransom and may have contributed to the death of a woman in Germany might be charged with negligent manslaughter if authorities can track them down.

Earlier this month, the hackers attacked 30 servers at the hospital, encrypting them and leaving a digital note behind directing those reading it to be in touch.

A sample of what a ransomware attack can look like. Picture: EPA / Ritchie B. Tongo

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The note was addressed to Heinrich Heine University, believed to have been the intended target, but the hack actually took offline the affiliated Dusseldorf University Clinic.

Police got in touch with the hackers to tell them they’d attacked the hospital rather than the university, and according to a report from the local justice Minister, the hackers then provided the decryption keys for the servers.

The alleged hackers are reportedly no longer reachable.

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The alleged hackers have disappeared.

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Prosecutors are looking to find them as they investigate a possible negligent manslaughter case, after a woman missed out on potentially lifesaving treatment.

The woman was supposed to be taken to Dusseldorf University Clinic on the night of Friday September 11, but was instead taken a further 32 kilometres to a hospital in Wuppertal, where she died.

Ransomware attacks, where hackers encrypt data and demand payment for its release, are becoming increasingly common.

Last year, at least seven Australian hospitals were hit by ransomware attacks.

Hospitals are an attractive target for hackers. Picture: AFP / Isabel Infantes

In August, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) issued a “critical alert”, warning that significant ransomware attacks against hospitals or aged care providers would have a “major impact”.

“Cybercriminals view the aged care and healthcare sectors as lucrative targets for ransomware attacks,” the ACSC said.

“This is because of the sensitive personal and medical information they hold, and how critical this information is to maintaining operations and patient care.”

The ACSC nevertheless warns that organisations or people should never pay ransom demands and restore files from backups instead.