AIIMS server outage being probed as ‘cyber terrorism': Delhi Police

A suspected ransomware attack hit servers at AIIMS on Wednesday, leading to long waits for patients as registrations, sample processing and billing as computers were hit.

Delhi Police on Thursday said they were probing the ransomware attack on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as an act of "cyber terrorism". A First Information Report (FIR) has also been lodged under various Indian Penal Code sections including that of extortion and computer-related offences.

AIIMS Delhi. (PTI)

Various government agencies are probing the incident as the hospital's server remained out of service for the second consecutive day, reported news agency PTI.

ht newsDoctors said services for out-patient (OPD) and in-patient (IPD) departments were affected and all registrations and appointment management were halted.

All emergency, routine patient care and laboratory services are being managed manually. “The registration process is being handled manually, which is causing a delay and resulting in long queues. Patients who do not have a unique health ID are facing problems,” a doctor at the hospital had said.

If confirmed, this could be one of the first instances of a major Indian hospital being affected by ransomware.

These sort of attacks involve a malware that locks access to files, crippling regular functioning. Ransomware operators typically demand a payment -- hence, ransom -- to provide the key to decrypt the files.