"PLAY Ransomware Group Claims Responsibility for Antwerp Attack as Second Belgian City Confirms New Incident"
The PLAY ransomware group has claimed responsibility for a recent ransomware attack on Antwerp, Belgium, just as the city of Diest has confirmed that a cyberattack has targeted it. On December 19, the PLAY group threatened to start leaking Antwerp's stolen data. It remains unclear what information was stolen. According to VRT News, the cyberattack impacted the city of Diest, which has a population of about 20,000 people. All city services' Information Technology (IT) systems are down because of the attack. Officials have not yet confirmed the nature of the recent attack on Antwerp, but have stated that the most significant impact was on the city's residential care centers. The Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office stated that an investigation into the incident has been launched. The general manager of Zorgbedrijf Antwerpen (Antwerp Healthcare), Johan de Muynck, warned that the software used to keep track of who should receive which medicines was currently down. Rather than typical electronic prescriptions, patients are currently receiving paper prescriptions signed by doctors. Citizen services were also impacted, according to Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN). Identity cards, for example, currently cannot be issued. Many of the applications at those counters are federal, and the lines have been closed as a precaution. Only travel passes are still available. This article continues to discuss the PLAY ransomware group claiming responsibility for a recent ransomware attack on the Belgian city of Antwerp as well as another incident faced by a second Belgian city.