Cheshire and Wirral NHS Trust suffers IT problems as hospitals are hit by cyber attack

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UPDATE:

NHS Wales IT has said that due to the NHS England cyber attack, they have blocked all inbound emails, those from external senders and NHS England, to NHS Wales.

All blocked emails will be dropped and deleted. “Client services supported file shares have also been disabled until Monday as a precaution.”[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” style=”dashed” accent_color=”#c92100″][vc_column_text]A major ransomware attack has hit multiple hospitals and NHS organisations in England.

The ransomware locks the screen of compromised computers demanding $300 to unlock the system.

The NHS in Wales has not been affected by the cyber-attack a Welsh Government spokesperson told the BBC;

We have had no reported cyber incidents affecting NHS Wales but are monitoring the situation closely.

NHS has declared a major incident after the cyber attack which has affected a number of hospitals and GP surgeries across England

The ransomware attack is believed to be affecting many Windows XP-based IT systems including x-ray imaging systems, those producing pathology test results, phone and bleep systems and patient administration systems.

Some hospitals and trusts are said to be urging patients not to attend A&E units and diverting emergency patients.

National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency are assisting NHS Digital.

We are working with @ncsc to investigate nationwide #cyber attacks reported today @NHSDigital

— NationalCrimeAgency (@NCA_UK) May 12, 2017

NHS Digital has so far said sixteen NHS organisations in England have been affected though latest reports suggest as many as forty are experiencing issues with their IT systems.

NHS Digital also say the NHS has not specifically been targeted and the malware is affecting organisations from across a range of sectors.

Am told @AintreeHospital and @RoyalLpoolHosps also affected by this cyber attack -but sounds like they’re still assessing extent of it
— Lawrence Dunhill (@LawrenceDunhill) May 12, 2017

It is not known if Countess of Chester Hospital has been affected, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has said they are experiencing problems with their computer network.

— CWP (@cwpnhs) May 12, 2017

Ambulance services are not reporting they have been affected by the attack.

Statement from NHS Digital;

“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. The investigation is at an early stage but we believe the malware variant is Wanna Decryptor.

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.

This attack was not specifically targeted at the NHS and is affecting organisations from across a range of sectors. Our focus is on supporting organisations to manage the incident swiftly and decisively, but we will continue to communicate with NHS colleagues and will share more information as it becomes available.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]