Katholische Hospitalvereinigung Ostwestfalen

Katholische Hospitalvereinigung Ostwestfalen (KHO) is a Catholic hospital association that provides healthcare services through its member hospitals in the Ostwestfalen region of Germany. The association operates acute care facilities that deliver medical, surgical, and nursing care to patients. In addition to inpatient services, KHO hospitals offer emergency departments and outpatient clinics. By coordinating clinical pathways and administrative functions across its hospitals, the association aims to maintain consistent quality standards. As a faith‑based organization, KHO integrates the ethical principles of the Catholic Church into its care delivery.

The cyberattack reported on 24 December 2023 (Christmas Eve) targeted the IT infrastructure of KHO, causing a widespread outage that affected three of its hospitals. The outage resulted from unidentified attackers breaching the network and encrypting data, with early analysis pointing to Lockbit 3.0 ransomware. As a precaution, all affected systems were shut down immediately, leading to the suspension of emergency services for safety reasons. Despite the technical limitations, patient care continued using backup systems, demonstrating the organization’s contingency arrangements. The incident indicates that KHO oversees at least three hospital facilities, giving it a notable regional footprint in Ostwestfalen.

Internal and external security specialists were engaged to restore operations and secure data following the attack. Authorities were notified of the incident, and a crisis team was formed to conduct forensic analysis. At the time of reporting, the full extent of any data compromise and the attackers’ demands remained unclear. As a Catholic hospital association, KHO emphasizes compassionate, ethically grounded care aligned with Church teachings. Its structure as a vereinigung (association) enables shared resources, joint procurement, and collaborative governance among its member hospitals.