The IT department of the NHS, the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, has been hit by ransomware. Depending on the service, most care can be continued.
Ransomware attackers have taken control of IT systems belonging to England’s National Health Service, the NHS. Advanced, an IT service that manages digital services such as emergency number 111 and medical appointments, says It may take three to four weeks for everything to return to normal. According to the NHS, the disruption was minimal, although it is currently unclear whether data was also stolen.
In A statement Advanced says it noticed the attack on August 4 and tried to prevent it. It is currently in the process of restoring its services. The company declined to say whether it had negotiated with the attackers or paid any ransom.
Files are missing
While the NHS claims there have been few outages, the service has a strong back-up system, with witnesses telling the BBC’s national broadcaster that doctors are struggling to make decisions. In recent days, information systems containing patient records have been inaccessible, leaving medical histories of many patients unavailable.
During the attack, the British emergency number 111 had to work temporarily with pen and paper as information technology systems went down. That figure was later restored.
Ransomware attackers have taken control of IT systems belonging to England’s National Health Service, the NHS. Advanced, an IT service that manages digital services such as emergency number 111 and medical appointments, says It may take three to four weeks for everything to return to normal. According to the NHS, the disruption was minimal, although it is currently unclear whether data was also stolen. In a statement, Advanced said it noticed the attack on August 4 and tried to prevent it. It is currently in the process of restoring its services. The company declined to say whether it had negotiated with the attackers or paid any ransom. The NHS had some breakdowns and the service had strong back-up systems, and witnesses told the BBC’s national broadcaster that doctors were struggling to make decisions. In recent days, information systems containing patient records have been inaccessible, leaving medical histories of many patients unavailable. During the attack, the British emergency number 111 had to work temporarily with pen and paper as IT systems went down. That figure was later restored.
