National Health Service of Ireland

History

2021: IT shutdown due to ransomware attack

On May 14, 2021, the National Service health care Ireland was forced to temporarily shut down its IT system due to. hacker attack It is known that hackers they used. ransomware

The health service noted that this is "a serious attack related to extortion, and that Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) computer system is disabled for safety reasons." According to service spokesman Paul Reid, the hacker attack is complex, the virus has affected national and regional health systems. Some hospitals in Ireland had to cancel the records.

The Ministry of Health of Ireland turned off IT systems after an ransomware virus attack, clinics are forced to cancel receptions

The attack did not affect the systems responsible for the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Ireland, so appointments will take place in accordance with the plan, although the registration portal is disabled. During downtime, doctors also cannot refer people for COVID-19 tests, so patients are advised to use centers for self-testing. The ambulance, according to the source, works normally.

We don't know much, but it seems to be a ransomware attack by international criminals... Unfortunately, the solution to the problem can last until the weekend or until next week, "said Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

Experts from third-party cybersecurity companies and law enforcement agencies take part in the study of the incident. HSE representatives believe that the main goal of attackers is data stored on HSE servers.

According to the BBC, representatives of the Rotunda Hospital medical institution, which also affected the incident, suggest that the vector of the spread of the virus could be a system of patient registration common to all HSE institutions.^[1]

Notes