AIIMS Server Down For A Week, Hospital Operating On Manual Mode; Terror Probe On

Delhi's AIIMS continued to operate in a manual mode on Tuesday, a week after a hack attack crashed the server-based system. The AIIMS Delhi server is down since 7 am on Wednesday and the outpatient department (OPD) and sample collection services have been affected as a result. Most of the OPD appointments at AIIMS Delhi are made online only. 

A statement by AIIMS Delhi said that National Informatics Centre (NIC), whose servers AIIMS uses, has said that the hospital may have been subjected to a ransomware attack.

Here's what have been the latest updates:

"With the server being down, the OPD and sample collection were handled manually but the sample system for those who do not have a Unique Health Identification were affected," an official source told PTI, adding that as each sample collected requires a barcode for tracking, the server going down has led to very few samples being collected.

According to media reports, police have denied that hackers asked for ₹ 200 crore in cryptocurrency as ransom to restore the system at the AIIMS on November 23.

Further, the management of the hospital has deployed additional staff members to run the OPD, diagnostic labs and other services.  

Monday was the sixth day at the country’s premier institute when the e-hospital services did not work, and the patient data system and day-to-day activities, including OPD registrations and blood sample reports, remained affected.

The attack has led to worries about theft. According to the FIR, there have been sections around extortion and cyber-terrorism. 

The medical superintendent at AIIMS said that the number of patients has gone up a day now, reportedly nearly 12,000 patients as they were unable to book appointments online. 

A statement by AIIMS on Monday said, "The data restoration and server cleaning [are] taking some time due to the volume of data and a large number of servers for the hospital services. Measures are being taken for cyber security."

The National Investigation Agency has been investigating the case, while the National Informatics Centre and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team are trying to restore the data.

According to a report by PTI, a source said, “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.”