Mafia-type organizations, often based in eastern Europe, are likely to have been behind a recent wave of cyber attacks on French hospitals, rather than foreign powers, said the French minister for digital technology, Cedric O, on February 25.
“Concerning the hospitals, in all likelihood it is not foreign powers, but rather Mafia-type organizations – often situated in eastern countries but not just limited to there – who are looking for money,” Cedric O told France 2 television.
Cedric O said such criminal organizations would typically demand ransom money from victims to restore their computer systems, after paralysing their software.