AIIMS Delhi server down for 6th day, hackers demand Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency

In what is being termed as an ‘act of cyber terrorism’, the servers of the country’s top medical college, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi remained down for the sixth straight day. The hackers have allegedly made a demand of an estimated Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency as ransom, official sources were quoted as saying on Monday. 

The hacking could have compromised the medical and personal data of around 3-4 crore patients, it is feared. The AIIMS Delhi cyberattack was detected on Wednesday (November 23) morning. With the server being down for almost a week, the staff at the premier medical institute has been forced to manage patient services like emergency, outpatient, inpatient and laboratory manually. 

The ransomware attack is under investigation and a team comprising members of Delhi Police, Home Ministry and India Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN). The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police registered a case of extortion and cyber terrorism on November 25.

Internet on computers at the medical institute has been blocked on the recommendations of the probe agencies, official sources have said. Data of several VIPs, including former prime ministers, ministers, judges and bureaucrats, is also stored on the AIIMS server. 

A team from National Informatics Centre (NIC) is scanning and cleaning the e-hospital servers at AIIMS, needed for the delivery of medical services. 

"The full sanitisation of the network is likely to continue for five more days. Thereafter, e-hospital services can be rolled out in a phased manner. Patient care services including emergency, outpatient, inpatient,laboratory etc services are being continued on manual mode," the source said.

READ | Massive blaze breaks out in northwest Delhi, 27 fire tenders rushed to the spot