A Netherlands-based healthcare software company, ChipSoft, has been forced offline after falling victim to a ransomware attack, according to officials.
The company’s website has been inaccessible since April 7 and remains down at the time of writing. ChipSoft supplies patient record management systems to hospitals and is used by roughly 80 percent of healthcare facilities across the country.
Confirmation of the ransomware attack came through an advisory issued by Z-CERT, the cybersecurity response team for the Dutch healthcare sector, and was also referenced in a statement released on Wednesday.
"On April 7, 2026, Z-CERT received notification that ChipSoft has fallen victim to a ransomware attack," it said. "Z-CERT is in contact with ChipSoft, healthcare institutions, and our partners. We are working hard to assess the impact of the incident."
The identity of the attackers remains unknown. Despite the outage affecting ChipSoft’s public-facing systems, most hospitals using its software continue to operate their patient portals without interruption.
Usage of ChipSoft’s systems differs among hospitals, with some institutions relying on it more heavily than others. Reports from NOS indicate that 11 hospitals have temporarily taken their systems offline, including nine that depend extensively on the platform.
Z-CERT has advised healthcare providers working with ChipSoft to review their systems for any unusual activity and report suspicious findings through official channels.
In its annual threat assessment, Z-CERT highlighted ransomware and extortion as the most significant cybersecurity risks facing Dutch healthcare organizations—issues that have persisted over recent years. In 2025, one of the country’s most serious breaches occurred during a Nova ransomware attack on Eurofins subsidiary Clinical Diagnostics, a laboratory specializing in cancer screening.
That incident resulted in the theft of data belonging to nearly one million patients, including personal details and highly sensitive medical records such as Pap smear results and other diagnostic test data.
Z-CERT also referenced a more recent ransomware attack in January targeting the Belgian hospital network AZ Monica. The cyberattack caused extended disruptions at facilities in Antwerp and Deurne, forcing hospitals to divert ambulances and transfer critical patients elsewhere.
"Digital outage is not an abstract IT problem. It concerns people who need care," said Wim Hafkamp, emphasizing the need for robust contingency planning in healthcare.
"In Belgium, in January 2026, we saw how a cyberattack on a hospital led to prolonged system downtime and postponed operations. That directly affects patients and healthcare providers. Good preparation ensures that care can continue safely and carefully even then."