![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/5f64743e85f54079811e1890.jpg\")
FILE PHOTO: The Duesseldorf university clinic, in Duesseldorf, Germany, February 26, 2020. \u00a9 REUTERS\/Wolfgang Rattay<\/p><\/div>\n
RT.com<\/p>\n
A woman in need of urgent care died after a Dusseldorf hospital\u2019s computer systems were hacked, preventing the patient from receiving the treatment she needed, and marking a rare case in which ransomware has led to death.<\/p>\n
The ransomware attack that exploited a vulnerability in a\u00a0\u201cwidely used commercial add-on software\u201d<\/em>\u00a0caused Duesseldorf University Clinic\u2019s IT systems to crash, the hospital said. As a result, the medical facility wasn\u2019t able to access data, and emergency patients were rerouted to other hospitals. The hack also forced the hospital to postpone operations.<\/p>\n Tragically, one death has been attributed to the cyber attack, after a woman in need of emergency care had to be rushed to another city for treatment. The patient was transported 32 kilometers (20 miles) to a hospital in Wuppertal, with doctors saying that the delay was fatal.\u00a0A homicide investigation has been opened in connection with the incident and the hospital says it will take time before it can resume normal operations.<\/p>\n The hackers were able to encrypt 30 servers at the hospital, essentially holding the facility\u2019s data hostage. According to the Dusseldorf hospital, the ransomware \u2013 which is usually used to extort money \u2013 came with\u00a0\u201cno concrete demand,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0but instead provided instructions on how to contact the hackers. The note was left at Heinrich Heine University, which is affiliated with the hospital.<\/p>\n German investigators contacted the hackers and explained that they had targeted the hospital, and not the university, endangering the lives of patients. The perpetrators then provided a digital key to decrypt the data. The hackers then broke off communication and law enforcement haven\u2019t been able to track them down.<\/p>\n The hospital said that its systems were being gradually restored and that it doesn\u2019t believe that any of the affected data will be irretrievably lost.<\/p>\n