Israeli hospital redirects new patients following ransomware attack

An Israeli hospital near the city of Tel Aviv was hacked on Tuesday by a group of unknown cybercriminals, prompting it to stop admitting new patients and redirecting people to nearby hospitals.

The ransomware attack on Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center shut down its administrative computer systems but didn’t affect the medical gear.

Patients who were already getting treatment at the hospital are still being taken care of, but new patients and those needing emergency care are being advised to visit other medical centers, Israeli media reported.

“We have been busy at the hospital doing everything we need to do to be running as normal and protect all data,” the medical center wrote on Twitter.

We have been busy at the hospital doing everything we need to do to be running as normal and protect all data. https://t.co/0YdPuoP0Sg

— Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center (@MayaneiHayeshua) August 8, 2023

At the time of publication the hospital's website is accessible, but the company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The cyberattack hasn't been linked to a specific hacking group, and none have taken responsibility for it yet. However, the country has been targeted by a number of both politically and financially motivated groups in recent years.

In 2021, China-linked hackers took down the computer systems of a major hospital in Israel, Hadera’s Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. It cost the hospital almost $10 million to recover from the ransomware attack. Israel’s health sector was one of the most attacked sectors by hackers in 2021.

And this May, suspected Iranian hackers targeted Israeli shipping and logistics companies to gather information about their users. Israeli cybersecurity officials also blamed hackers sponsored by the Iranian government for a ransomware attack on the country’s leading technology university.

Additionally, Israel has been targeted by pro-Russia hackers over its support of Ukraine. Last year, for example, the Kremlin-linked hacking group XakNet launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Israeli parliament’s website in revenge for Israel providing intelligence information on Iranian drones to Ukraine.