HEALTH COACH - NHS cyber attack: chiefs fear other infections of the ransomware system

HEALTH COACH -

 NHS cyber attack: chiefs fear other infections of the ransomware system  

 

 Image copyright 
 EPA 



 
 Patients were invited to use the NHS "wisely" as it discovers the full impact of the global cyber attack on Friday. 
 
 NHS England said there was a "complex emerging picture", amid concerns about thousands of computers that are returned after the weekend. 
 
 Seven out of 47 trusts that were hit still face serious problems, but patients were told to attend appointments unless otherwise advised. 
 
 Some general practitioners ask people to determine if they really need appointments. 
 
 The virus that hit the NHS in England and Scotland, known as Wanna Decryptor or WannaCry, has infected 200,000 machines in 150 countries since Friday. 
 
 Be patient, 
 
 Ransomware, which locks up users' files and requires a $ 300 ($ 230) payment to allow access, spreads to organizations including FedEx, Renault and the Russian Ministry of Finance. 39; Interior. 
 
 BBC analysis of three accounts related to ransom demands suggests that about $ 38,000 was paid out by Monday morning. 
 
 In England, 47 trusts reported problems in hospitals and 13 NHS organizations in Scotland were also affected 
 
 Some hospitals were forced to cancel treatments and appointments, And send the ambulances back to other sites. 
 
 Among the NHS trusts reporting on Sunday computer difficulties were: 
 
 
 St Bartholomew's Hospital in London 
 East and North Trust of Hertfordshire 
 James Paget University Hospitals Trust, Norfolk 
 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 
 Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
 York Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 
 North Midlands Trust University Hospital 
 
 Anne Rainsberry, director of the NHS incident, said that pathology services were the most severely affected, alongside imaging services, such as MRI and CT scans, and X-rays, which transmit images via computers. 
 
 She asked people to think about the services they needed. 
 
 "Remember that [people] may seek help and guidance from a range of other sources, such as pharmacies and NHS 111," "Dr. Rainsberry said. 
 
 "Given the impact of the global cyber attack, I invite people to be patient with the staff." 
 
 

 
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  Legend of the media  How to protect yourself online 
 
 
 Particularly worried about the possibility of other infections in medical surgeries General, many of which were closed on weekends 
 
 Some practices advised the staff due to the change on Monday not to reactivate the computers until further notice. 
 
 General practitioners in the northeastern and northern regions of the Cumbria region have asked patients to consider whether they need appointments Monday and Tuesday, Still have no access to patient records, prescriptions, appointment systems and phones. 
 
 







 
 The investigation begins ... 
 
 





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 PA 



 
  By Rory Cellan-Jones, correspondent for BBC technology  
 
 We now know that Friday's ransomware attack was a global computer crime, But the most serious impact was here in the UK on the National Health Service. So what made our hospitals so vulnerable? 
 
 There are many theories - among which too many computers in hospitals run Windows XP. 
 
 The government warned NHS trusts in 2014 that they needed to get away from XP as quickly as possible. 
 
 But do they? At the end of last year, the Citrix software company reported that a request for information on freedom of information had revealed that 90% of hospitals still had machines running under Windows XP. 
 
 Read the full analysis of Rory here 
 
 







 
 The WannaCry patch system exploits a flaw in Microsoft Windows initially identified by the US secret services. 
 
 Microsoft said the Friday incident was a "wakeup" and reiterated that it had released a security update in March to protect computers from the virus. 
 
 "As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, there is simply no way for customers to protect themselves from threats unless they update their systems, "The company said. 
 
 Backup Data 
 
 The UK National Cyber ​​Security Center has advised companies to keep software patches up to date, to use anti-virus software And safeguarding the data that matter so that they can not be held in ransom for its return. 
 
 The government insists that the NHS has been repeatedly warned of the cyber threat to its computer systems. 
 
 Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said £ 50 million worth of £ 1.9 billion was set aside for cyber- protection was devoted to NHS systems to improve their security . 
 
 Sir Michael said the trusts were encouraged to "reduce their exposure to the weakest system [Windows XP]", while less than 5% of trusts are now using it. 
 
 Government cuts 
 
 But the work criticized the Conservatives, saying they had reduced the funding of the NHS computer budget and that a contract to protect the Computer systems has not been renewed after 2015. 
 
 Secretary of Health Shadow, Jonathan Ashworth, also pointed out a report of the National Audit Bureau there six months. 
 
 He pointed out how, in February 2016, the Ministry of Health had "transferred £ 950 million of its budget of £ 4.6 billion to the capital projects, such as construction And information technology, budgets to fund the daily activities of the NHS bodies. "
 
 







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