Wales ‘not affected’ by major NHS cyber attack
HEALTH boards, trusts and hospitals across Wales said they were unaffected by a major cyber attack on the NHS in England and Scotland yesterday.
Welsh NHS computer system bosses insisted they have measures in place to guard against criminal hackers.
Hospitals and GP surgeries in England and Scotland were among 16 health service organisations hit by a ransomware attack, using malware called Wanna Decryptor.
English hospitals and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in London, Blackpool, Hertfordshire and Derbyshire were among those to report problems, with NHS hospitals forced to divert emergency ambulances and cancel operations.
In Scotland NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and NHS Forth Valley said some of their GP surgeries were caught up in the incident.
Staff were forced to revert to pen and paper and use their own mobiles after the attack affected key systems, including telephones.
Pictures posted on social media showed screens of NHS computers with images demanding payment of US$300 worth of the online currency Bitcoin, threatening to delete files within seven days.
A spokesman for NHS Digital spokesman, which manages health service cyber security, said: “At this stage we do not have any evidence that patient data has been accessed.
“We will continue to work with affected organisations to confirm this.”
He added the attack “was not specifically targeted at the NHS and is affecting organisations from across a range of sectors”.
The attack came as several companies in Spain were hit by ransomware attacks. Telecoms firm Telefonica was one of those reporting problems.
But the NHS Wales Informatics Service, which looks after technology and computer systems here, said systems were working as normal in Wales.
A spokeswoman said: “There have been no reported cyber incidents affecting us in Wales. We are monitoring the situation.
“We have a number of pro-active precaution measures in place should such an attack take place.”
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Welsh Government also confirmed that there had been no reported incidents of a cyber attack in Wales.
Residents in some areas of England have been told to stay away from GP surgeries and A&E departments unless “absolutely necessary”.
A doctor at one of the hospitals affected by the attack tweeted: “So our hospital is down. We got a message saying your computers are now under their control and pay a certain amount of money. And now everything is gone.”