Alert raised by health minister about impending cyber assault

North Rhine-Westphalia's Health Minister Faces Criticism Over Alleged Cybersecurity Neglect

Düsseldorf — North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Health, Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), has come under scrutiny for seemingly disregarding warnings about heightened hospital cyber threats, according to "Business Insider". The magazine reports that Laumann failed to respond to a letter from the head of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Arne Schönbohm, as early as October 2019.

Schönbohm reportedly alerted Laumann to the increased vulnerability of hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) to cyberattacks and emphasized the immediate need for enhanced hospital IT protection. The BSI offered its support, but Laumann has yet to respond, according to "Business Insider".

The NRW hospital association's warnings about inadequate funds for protecting hospital IT have also gone unheeded, as per "Business Insider". The BSI confirms it made a similar offer to the state minister. A spokesperson for the magazine stated that there has been no opportunity to discuss the matter due to Laumann's decisions regarding IT security investments and the hospital structural fund.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health admitted the oversight: "The ministry has taken your inquiry as an opportunity to review the matter. It was found that, unfortunately, no response was made to the letter. The ministry will use this as an opportunity to contact the BSI," they added.

Thomas Kutschaty, the leader of the SPD faction in North Rhine-Westphalia, expressed outrage: "If this is true, then Minister Laumann is now in a difficult position. If he has indeed not reacted to the offers of help from the BSI and ignored the cry for help from the hospital association, then that was simply irresponsible."

The alleged inaction has led to severe consequences. Unknown individuals reportedly took down the hospital's servers Thursday night, causing hundreds of treatments and operations to be postponed and resulting in one patient's death after being referred to a hospital further away in Wuppertal.

According to available data, Laumann's focus has been on broader health initiatives, such as hospital reforms and workforce development, with little mention of cybersecurity measures or responses to hospital cyber threats. To clarify whether adequate actions were taken in this area, more targeted information would be necessary.

[1] https://www.business-insider.de/gesundheit-minister-laumann-ksb-standpunkte-8//[3] https://www.germany.info/wk/NRW-Health-Minister-Unterstutzung-an-der-Digitalisierung-der-NRW-Krankenhause-fristet-bis-2024-auf-aus-4466647[4] https://www.wdr.de/sternstunde/player/laumann-ist-reformer-der-gesundheitspolitik-16042019/4gpoU1IHcPdt51S2vxdJhK:Umkehr:-Die-Gesundheitspolitik-von-Karl-Josef-Laumann-,id=1_61_80_index.html

Despite the increasing medical-conditions related cybersecurity threats to hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia, the minister, Karl-Josef Laumann, has been criticized for allegedly neglecting warnings and not taking necessary measures to enhance hospital IT protection.
Adequate funds for protecting hospital IT, according to the NRW hospital association, have gone unheeded, creating a potential vulnerability in health-and-wellness systems.
The alleged cybersecurity neglect came to light as unknown individuals took down the hospital's servers, causing postponements of hundreds of treatments and operations and resulting in a patient's death from being referred away.
Despite the general-news of the cyberattack, Laumann's focus appears to be on broader health initiatives such as hospital reforms, workforce development, and digitalization, with little mention of cybersecurity measures or responses to hospital cyber threats.