Cyber Incident Victim: Helsinki University Hospital
Date:
Jan 2023
Location:
Finland
Summary
A prolonged distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeted the website of Helsinki University Hospital, causing intermittent service disruptions that rendered the site periodically inaccessible to users. The attack commenced on a Saturday afternoon and concluded by the following Monday afternoon, as confirmed by the organization's communications director. The incident was resolved without further elaboration on mitigation measures or additional impacts beyond the temporary unavailability of web services.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
The cyber incident affecting Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) began on the afternoon of Saturday, January 28, 2023, with an intermittent denial-of-service (DoS) attack targeting the hospital group's public-facing websites. This external attack caused periodic disruptions to the availability of HUS's online services, impairing public access to its web resources for approximately two days. The hospital's communications director, Elisa Tikka, publicly acknowledged the incident to Helsingin Sanomat on Monday afternoon around 4:30 PM local time, confirming the operational impact stemmed from deliberate malicious activity rather than internal technical failures. While the attack remained active, users experienced inconsistent access to HUS's digital platforms, though the exact technical scope and magnitude of the disruption weren't detailed in public statements. No evidence suggested compromise of internal hospital systems, patient data, or clinical operations during this event.
HUS's response included continuous monitoring and public transparency through established media channels. By Monday afternoon—roughly 48 hours after the attack commenced—Tikka confirmed the incident had concluded, with normal website functionality restored. The resolution occurred without disclosed details about mitigation techniques or third-party involvement. The hospital attributed the outage solely to external aggression, distinguishing it from maintenance-related downtime. No ancillary impacts on healthcare delivery, data breaches, or financial consequences were reported. The conclusion of the attack marked the end of service disruptions, with HUS resuming standard online operations by the start of the business week following the weekend incident.