Barwon Health cyber attack could hurt for weeks
BARWON Health has indicated it could be weeks until systems are fully restored following a devastating cyber attack.
It has now been a week since the ransomware attack hit Barwon Health and some other regional Victorian public health services last Monday.
Chief executive Frances Diver said Barwon Health was “progressively restoring” IT system access with the support of cyber security experts.
“We anticipate minimal impact to our usual Barwon Health service in the coming weeks and I’m pleased we were able to reduce our number of rescheduled elective surgeries on Friday to just two out of 52,” Ms Diver said.
“It’s been encouraging to see effective and efficient communication can still take place without the modern technology we usually rely on, and we have even seen positive outcomes resulting from more face-to-face interactions.”
The attack has forced Barwon Health to revert to paper systems, as Barwon Health remained offline Sunday.
Some elective surgeries and outpatient appointments have been called off, with complications accessing patient history.
The attack has also affected health services in areas including Colac, Gippsland and Warrnambool.
The attack was foreshadowed in a damning report released by the Victorian AuditorGeneral’s Office earlier this year, which highlighted cybersecurity weaknesses in services including Barwon Health.
Cyber security experts and health unions have voiced concern Barwon Health remained susceptible to such an attack despite the report’s warnings in May.
It comes as the Geelong hospital’s emergency department was inundated with patients yesterday.