IT health improves
Some email still down
SOME Barwon Health staff are still unable to access email, almost a month after a devastating cyber attack hit.
The health service was forced offline on October 1, when it was caught in an attack that affected multiple health services in southwest Victoria and Gippsland.
Ransomware can be spread through malicious email attachments, infected software apps, infected external storage devices and compromised websites.
This week, some rural health services in northeast Victoria were briefly forced to turn off IT systems due to a malware virus on Wednesday.
Initially some surgeries and appointments at Barwon Health were cancelled, but the hospital has been recovering in the weeks since the attack.
Spokeswoman Kate Bibby said all core clinical information systems were up and running.
“Access to email has been provided to key areas and a broader availability is being planned,” Ms Bibby said. “We continue to work with experts from both the Federal and State Governments to ensure we have best measures in place to protect us in the future.
“We remain confident that patient and staff confidentiality has not been compromised.”
Ms Bibby said Barwon Health had insurance to meet the costs of the incident, including the digitising of records created over the period it was impacted.
The attack came just months after a report by the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office exposed flaws in Barwon Health’s cyber security.
The report saw VAGO hack into three health services, including Barwon Health. It concluded, across audited services, staff awareness of data security was low and there were key weaknesses in security.
In the months following the report, Barwon Health spent more than $100,000 on cyber security.