The Independent Public Regional Hospital in the western Polish city Szczecin has been forced to revert to manual procedures after a cyberattack over the weekend. Hospital authorities confirmed that the incident, which hit the facility's IT systems on the night of March 7-8, 2026, has temporarily disrupted digital operations, although the health of patients remains unaffected.
Independent Public Regional Hospital: Patient care continues
Hospital spokesman Tomasz Owsik-Kozłowski explained on Sunday that the cyberattack encrypted parts of the hospital's, blocking staff access to critical digital files. "The hospital's priority is to restore access to the IT system and return to normal operation," Owsik-Kozłowski said.
See also: Ericsson in the US reveals data breach
Despite the interruption, he stresses that patient care continues uninterrupted, with all emergency treatments and admissions being handled, albeit with slower administrative processes.
In an official statement, the Hospital reassures the public: “The health and lives of patients are not at risk. Emergency procedures have been activated, including the transition to a manual workflow. The hospital administration remains in constant contact with the relevant authorities, focusing on restoring access to the IT system as soon as possible.”
While the hospital continues to accept new patients, officials are urging those with non- urgent medical needs to consider alternative facilities to reduce delays caused by manual processing.
Hackers target hospitals
The Szczecin incident reflects a broader trend in cybersecurity, with targeting increasingly. For example, last month, the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson experienced a major attack that forced the shutdown of key IT systems, including electronic medical records. The outage led to the closure of clinics across the state and the cancellation of outpatient surgeries and other medical procedures.
See also: UNC4899 hacked crypto company after employee scam
Federal agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, participated in the investigation to assess the potential data exposure.
Earlier in January, Lakelands Public Health experienced a cyberattack that affected internal systems. Officials confirmed that sensitive public health records, including infectious disease and vaccination data, remained secure.
Recently, there was an incident at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, where a ransomware attack compromised historical research data, including sensitive information on nearly 87,500 participants in a multi-year epidemiological study. While clinical operations were not affected, the university put extensive recovery and cybersecurity measures in place.
Similarly, the Manage My Health platform in New Zealand revealed a breach affecting over 120,000 users. While the GPs’ core clinical systems remained intact, the company warned of potential phishing attempts targeting users whose medical records were exposed.
See also: Cognizant TriZetto: Data breach affects 3.4 million patients
The Polish hospital has activated emergency protocols similar to those used in other global incidents. Staff are manually processing patient records and medical procedures, while cybersecurity experts work to restore the IT infrastructure.
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Hospital authorities continue to coordinate closely with national cybercrime services to assess the scope of the breach and prevent further disruptions.
