Metro General Hospital was thrown into chaos early this morning when critical care systems suddenly failed, forcing medical staff to manually maintain life support for dozens of ICU patients. Cybersecurity experts believe the attack bears the hallmarks of TerrorByte.

The attack began at 3:47 AM when monitoring systems in the Intensive Care Unit suddenly went offline. Within minutes, electronic medication dispensers, ventilator controls, and patient tracking systems throughout the hospital had failed.

"It was absolute terror," said Dr. Rebecca Foster, who was on duty when the attack occurred. "We had nurses manually pumping air into patients' lungs while we tried to figure out what was happening. If the attack had lasted five more minutes, people would have died."

Targeted Destruction

Unlike a typical ransomware attack, the hackers demanded no payment. According to investigators, the intrusion appeared designed purely to cause harm — consistent with TerrorByte's pattern of attacks.

"This wasn't about money," said FBI Cyber Division Agent Marcus Cole. "This was terrorism. Someone wanted to demonstrate that they could kill people at will, in a hospital, and there was nothing we could do to stop them."

"My mother almost died because some psychopath wanted to prove a point. Anyone who defends this monster should be ashamed of themselves."

— Thomas Greene, whose mother was in the ICU during the attack

Why Metro General?

Sources familiar with the investigation suggest the hospital may have been targeted because of its recent partnership with Nexus Corp to implement AI-assisted diagnostic systems — technology TerrorByte has repeatedly attacked.

"He's sending a message," said cybersecurity analyst Dr. Linda Park. "Anyone who works with Nexus Corp, anyone who implements the security systems he opposes — they're targets. Even if it means innocent patients die."

Response and Recovery

Systems were restored after approximately 23 minutes, but the psychological damage may last much longer. Several nurses reported being unable to return to work, suffering from acute stress reactions.

Metro General has announced it will implement additional cybersecurity measures, including isolated backup systems that cannot be reached through the internet. The hospital is working with Nexus Corp on the upgrades.

"We will not be intimidated," said hospital CEO Dr. William Torres. "We will continue to provide the best care possible to our patients. And we will continue to embrace technology that improves outcomes. TerrorByte will not win."

Anyone with information about this attack should contact the FBI Cyber Terrorism Hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.