Several British hospitals say they are having major computer problems as the result of an apparent cyberattack.
Hospitals in London, northwest England and other parts of the country are reporting problems with their computer systems Friday. They have cancelled appointments, diverted ambulances to other sites and asked patients not to come to the hospitals except in an emergency.
The National Health Service (NHS) said 16 organizations had been affected by the cyber attack but added it had not been specifically targeted.
No patient data was believed to have been accessed by the ransomware attack but it was unclear whether it had impacted any emergency cases.
“The investigation is at an early stage but we believe the malware variant is Wanna Decryptor,” NHS Digital, the computer arm of the English health service, said in a statement.
“This attack was not specifically targeted at the NHS and is affecting organizations from across a range of sectors.”
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre, part of the GCHQ spy agency, said it was aware of a cyber incident and was working with NHS Digital and the police to investigate.
Hospitals across England reported the cyber attack was causing huge problems to their services and the public in areas affected were being advised to only seek medical care for emergencies.
Post Your Comments