First Ransomware-Related Death Reported in Germany After Attack Paralyzes Hospital

It sounds like something out of a tragic Black Mirror episode: A woman seeking urgent care died this week after an apparently bungled ransomware attack took down a major hospital in Germany, thus forcing paramedics to rush her to another city for treatment, according to several outlets.

It appears to be the first case of someone dying as a result of a ransomware attack, albeit indirectly, and German authorities are investigating the unknown hackers on suspicion of negligent manslaughter, the Associated Press reports

Beginning Thursday night, the attack disrupted the IT systems at Duesseldorf University Clinic, crippling its ability to access data and forcing it to postpone all scheduled operations and direct emergency patients elsewhere. The event under investigation happened on Friday, when a woman in a life-threatening condition was rushed to a hospital roughly 20 miles away, delaying her treatment by about an hour, which resulted in her death.

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