A cyberattack hit AZ Monica hospital in Belgium, forcing it to shut down servers, cancel procedures, and transfer critical patients.
A cyberattack forced Belgian hospital AZ Monica to shut down all servers, cancel scheduled procedures, and transfer critical patients. AZ Monica is a Belgian general hospital network operating two campuses in Antwerp and Deurne, providing acute, outpatient, and specialized medical care to the local population.
The hospital disconnected its systems at 6:32 a.m. after detecting the cyber attack. AZ Monica continues urgent care and treats current patients, but has postponed non-urgent consultations because staff cannot access digital medical records.
“This morning (6:32 a.m.), AZ Monica experienced a serious disruption to its IT systems. As a precaution, all servers for the campuses in Deurne and Antwerp were proactively shut down.” reads a press statement published by the hospital. “Due to this situation, no scheduled surgeries are possible today . We have informed all patients. The Emergency Department is operating at reduced capacity . The MUG and PIT services are temporarily unavailable . Consultations continue. Visitors are always welcome.”
The healthcare infrastructure launched an investigation into the incident and notified police and prosecutors. AZ Monica safely transferred seven critical patients with Red Cross support, while all other patients continue to receive care.
“Our emergency department is operating at low capacity. No patients are being transported to our emergency department by ambulance. Therefore, if you require urgent care, we ask that you contact your GP, a GP out-of-hours clinic, or another emergency service whenever possible.” reads a cyber incident update.
AZ Monica did not share details of the incident. The Brussels Times reported unverified claims of a ransom demand, which authorities and hospital officials have not confirmed.
The hospital emphasized that patient safety and continuity of care remain its top priorities and is closely monitoring the situation, with further updates to follow.
Cyberattacks on hospitals are very dangerous because they can disrupt critical medical services and put patients’ lives at risk. Hospitals depend on digital systems for records, tests, and treatments, and outages can delay urgent care. These attacks can also expose sensitive patient data and force hospitals to divert patients, creating wider pressure on healthcare services.
Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon
(SecurityAffairs – hacking, hospital)
