Surgeon Oana Goidescu was on duty when Romania's healthcare sector faced a significant cyber-attack that infected hospital networks. Following breaches of a widely used medical software, authorities ordered more than 100 hospitals to disconnect from the internet on February 10, 2024, to halt the hackers' progress. The ransomware attack, attributed to the strain BackMyData, necessitated a return to pen and paper, severely disrupting operations.
Despite the challenge, hospital staff rapidly developed offline methods to ensure patient care continued. Doctors created workarounds, requesting lab results on paper and using offline tools to document care. Cyber-security teams worked tirelessly with software developers to assess the damage and remove the threat, averting a ransom payment of €160,000.
Relief and recovery efforts led to most hospitals resuming normal operations within five days, with no fatalities reported. However, patients expressed frustration due to the delays caused by the attack, underscoring the critical need for robust IT strategies in healthcare. As threats in the digital landscape grow, experts emphasize the importance of regular backups and immediate crisis response protocols.