Cyber Attack on NHS

Very vulnerable, mawb, really pleased paw's treatment not impacted. Hope the transfusion helps.

Maybe we'll depend on computers less now? It was only a matter of time the firewalls can only keep the criminals and anarchists out for so long - imagine defence, banks, etc

As I understand it, it wasn't a direct attack on the NHS. It affected all sorts of systems world wide. A news spokesman said it would be difficult for large organisations to update systems regularly as it would mean shutting down vast areas which, for the NHS, would cause chaos in itself. Difficult situation.

It is a truly wicked thing to do. The radio news said 45 NHS trusts are affected. I hope the government will give the NHS enough money to update and protect the computer systems.

If I weren't firnly convinced of the idea of thr 3-fold Law, which means that they will get their come-uppance, I could almost wish that they would experience the need of a loved one (possibly themselves!) needing urgent hospital treatment. After 8 months waiting for a minor procedure, I was phoned on Tuesday and offered a pre-op appointment on Wednesday with a date fixed for the procedure on Monday. I was so pleased and shocked about this news story. As it happens, I think the surgery will still go ahead, but suppose it was urgent? Thoughtless b******s!

I'm wondering how long before the BBC blames the Brexit for this?

The crunch line is that all this mayhem could have been avoided. MS issued a 'critical' patch in March and had that been installed as advised then it would have thwarted this ransomware.

Seems a worldwide cyber attack is going on not just the NHS here and I hope you will all join in with me in wishing the perpetrators a haemorrhoid the size of a space hopper each........this is the start of another ongoing war so back up everything you can on your own devices.

My GP's system was down also yesterday afternoon, told me to phone back on Monday. A neighbour of mine works for IT in the NHS he's home today.

My GP's system was down yesterday. I had a 15 min walk to my GP's to be told about this. They had tried to ring as many people as possible but I was just unlucky I guess!
I did have a nice sit down under one of my favourite oak trees before the walk home so not a waste of my time, just very worrying that someone seriously ill may not have been able to get treatment needed.
Hopefully Karma will get them all for doing this!

What if the data is lost forever? Doesn't bear thinking about.

I know that the NHS introduced computer based everything in order to become more efficient (supposedly), and to ensure that our records were readily available to GP/hospitals etc. However anything electronic is ALWAYS going to be vulnerable - there will always be people striving to break into systems however many safeguards are in place. Its not just the NHS - our power, military and transport systems are also vulnerable.

There was a lot to be said for paper. (But maybe I'm a dinosaur.)

What is the point of investing more money in the NHS until we sack the managers responsible for not protecting the IT system. It needs a radical shake up.

This is a terrorist attack no less, on an international scale.Where is it all going to end?

Absolutely hairy scary!

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-cut-security-support-outdated-10413160

Somebody has a lot to answer for

99 countries are now apparently affected. I saw one report that the initial software or information needed was stolen from the CIA.
I hope that they catch them quickly and they need severe sentences. Hacking is so anti-social. They should also have to pay the financial cost of their crime, probably a total asset seizure, which should go towards the costs that organisations like the NHS have to spend on preventative measures.

wildswan16 I agree. There is also the problem of technical failures. There needs to be greater ability to switch back to manual systems if things go wrong but people are simply not being taught those manual methods any more.
The vast profits from internet companies like Microsoft, Google etc. also needs to be better used but this depends on the people running them not wanting to accumulate as many billions as possible. They don't even get rid of the scammers. In fact Facebook is actually paid for those 'Hugh Laurie is dead' scam ads so we probably can't expect much from them.

I laugh when I visit my optician annually. He has state of the art equipment but his receptionists still use pen and paper and the old fashioned filing system. My paperwork is a bit dog eared as I have been going there since 1979. He is too mean to supply them with a computer but maybe he will have the last laugh with his old fashioned methods.

Maw I am amazed that you were not affected yesterday at the Royal Free and also at your local. There must be a God somewhere.

Jaycee, stolen from the CIA?
You don't think it could be trump, do you?

Nissan Sunderland affected, too.

I don't think that blaming the NHS management ( or government) is fair or realistic.
These kind of hackers will always be able to get into any systems.New protective firewalls/spyware etc will keep them at bay for a short while, but then they will crack it.....and so it goes on.
Yes, a lot to be said for paper records!

How vulnerable are we? The short answer is that all of us are possibly vulnerable depending upon what we do and what protections we have in place, then that we ensure everything is kept bang up to date.

The NHS is only one of many organisations with legacy equipment, lots of different systems and a host of incompatability. The one serious attempt to overcome this was abandoned because the contractors could not continue.

The bad guys, whether foreign governments, hackers or cyber criminals are always exploring and exploiting the weaknesses they find. They are always ahead because the security guys get to act when an attack surfaces and they can then work to cancel it. As there are always going to be weaknesses there will always be problems. In the cyber world nothing stops still.

durhamjen A group called LulzSec hacked the CIA in 2012/3 and were caught. Microsoft introduced software to prevent future attacks using the system the hackers had set up but not all organisation did or could update.
I think it is still speculation as to whether this was the source this time but there are a lot of people who seem to know what they are talking about making the link. If it is, then it is unlikely to be anything to do with Trump (personally I think that there is a lot of McCarthyism in the way that any connections with Russia are being talked about but they don't seem to be being blamed this time).

Everyone is quick to blame the NHS s system but some big (dare I say rich) companies have been affected Russia has been affected the most and the actual hacking programme came from the US, that doesn't necessarily mean the hackers were from US but the programme used
This is according to WorldRadio just now