26/69 Thursday, January 15, 2026
AZ Monica Hospital in Belgium, a general hospital providing inpatient, outpatient, and specialized medical services in the cities of Antwerp and Deurne, has disclosed that it was impacted by a cyberattack. As a result, the hospital was forced to temporarily shut down all servers, cancel scheduled procedures and surgeries, and transfer critically ill patients to other medical facilities to ensure patient safety.
The hospital stated that abnormalities in its IT systems were detected at 6:32 a.m., prompting an immediate disconnection of all systems as a precautionary measure. This outage prevented staff from accessing electronic medical records, leading to the postponement of non-urgent care. While the emergency department remains operational at limited capacity, certain emergency services, including MUG and PIT units, were temporarily suspended. Affected patients were notified in advance of these disruptions.
AZ Monica has launched an investigation into the incident and has reported the matter to the police and the public prosecutor. The hospital is also coordinating with relevant authorities to safely relocate seven critically ill patients. At this stage, the hospital has not disclosed technical details of the attack. Local media have reported possible ransomware involvement, though this remains unconfirmed. The hospital emphasized that patient safety and continuity of care are its top priorities and stated that further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
