A letter published Tuesday and signed by a group of political and business figures said: "Such attacks endanger human lives and governments must take 'immediate and decisive action' to stop them." the letter stated.

Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said: "We are hoping that the world’s governments will step up to affirm their commitments to the international rules that prohibit such actions.”

Microsoft President Brad Smith and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright are among the 42 co-signers of the letter initiated by the non-government CyberPeace Institute whose mission is to prevent the internet from becoming “weaponised”.

The demand comes one month after the Czech Republic said its healthcare sector had come under digital attack. The Czech Republic and US government have yet to say who was to blame.

Over the last several months cybercriminals have targeted hospitals with computer viruses, usually in schemes to extort them or hold their data ransom. More sophisticated hacking groups, such as those associated with governments, have targeted medical research centers to steal valuable data about COVID-19 treatments.