France not ruling out response to cyberattack on hospital

The Rouen hospital, 100 miles northwest of Paris, was forced to halt services over the weekend after attackers sought to block its systems and demanded a ransom. A criminal investigation has been opened. — AFP

French authorities said they may hit back at cyber assailants who’ve struck a public hospital, forcing it to suspend all but the most vital systems.

"The attacker is still active, and looking for targets in France,” said Guillaume Poupard, the head of the national cyber security agency ANSSI. He spoke on the sideline of a conference in Paris. "The French law allows us to be active against the attacker, to neutralise it. We’re not ruling it out,” he said.