Cyber attack targets at least 16 NHS organisations nationwide

CYBER SECURITY experts are investigating a nationwide attack on IT systems that targeted at least 16 NHS organisations including some in Yorkshire.

The malware attacks affected hospital trusts in Yorkshire, including York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Trusts in London, Blackburn, Nottingham, Cumbria and Hertfordshire were also targeted yesterday afternoon, as well as some Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and GP surgeries.

In a statement, NHS Digital said it is now working with the Government and the National Cyber Security Centre to investigate the incident which it said was a major incident.

Theresa May said the Government is not aware of any evidence that patient records have been compromised in the massive cyber attack on the NHS. The Prime Minister said the ransomware hit was “not targeted” at the health service but was part of a wider assault on organisations across a number of countries.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is working to support the NHS.

Mrs May said: “We are aware that a number of NHS organisations have reported that they have suffered from a ransomware attack.

“This is not targeted at the NHS, it’s an international attack and a number of countries and organisations have been affected.”

The cyber attack is believed to have been caused by a type of malware, called the Wanna Decryptor, but officials said investigations were at an early stage.

The statement said: “A number of NHS organisations have reported to NHS Digital that they have been affected by a ransomware attack which is affecting a number of different organisations.

“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. NHS Digital is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre, the Department of Health and NHS England to support affected organisations and to recommend appropriate mitigations.”

The statement said the attack was not specifically targeted at the NHS. York Teaching Hospital NHS Trust confirmed it was among those experiencing difficulties yesterday.

Elsewhere, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust said it was also targeted but that its IT team “responded rapidly” to block the harmful malware.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have detected malware on our system however, at present, it has not had a significant impact on our organisation.

“Our IT team responded rapidly and we have blocked all incoming email and all web mail for the time being.”

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust told they were not affected yesterday.

Following the cyber strike, the Conservative Party said that if elected it would introduce a raft of digital measures aimed at protecting social media users.

New digital protections, the party said, would include requirements for social media firms to protect children from harmful content and an entitlement for users to have their records deleted from before the age of 18.

Attackers were able to target NHS computers by infecting them with a virus known as “ransomware”, where a rogue piece of software is installed remotely. The program demands an immediate online payment from the PC’s owner for its removal.

The Patients’ Association, which lobbies for improved healthcare for patients, condemned the criminals behind the attack but said lessons from earlier incidents had not been learned by the NHS.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The Government must take urgent action to get hospitals up and running again. They must also spend the cash to protect staff and patients from future incidents.”