Hospitals in England are diverting patients because of an ongoing cyber attack (the guardian reports). With a number of hospitals hit by the "Simultaneous" attack, some are suspending emergency services and telling patients not to go to their A&E departments.
One twitter user posted a photo of an infected machine stating "Ooops, your files have been encrypted!" (Tweet)
NHS Statement
A statement released by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust said: "Today (Friday, 12 May 2017), the trust has experienced a major IT problem, believed to be caused by a cyber attack.
“Immediately on discovery of the problem, the trust acted to protect its IT systems by shutting them down; it also meant that the trust’s telephone system is not able to accept incoming calls.
“The trust is postponing all non-urgent activity for today and is asking people not to come to A&E - please ring NHS111 for urgent medical advice or 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.
“To ensure that all back-up processes and procedures were put in place quickly, the trust declared a major internal incident to make sure that patients already in the trust’s hospitals continued to receive the care they need.”
Ransomware Has Evolved
Cylance, a leading artifical inteligence antivirus software explains:
"Today’s ransomware campaigns are very different from what we have seen in the past. On the one hand, ransomware can be easily obtained and used successfully by criminals that have little to no hacking skills, often referred to as Ransomware as a Service (RaaS).
"On the other hand, we are seeing ransomware being used for much more than just ransoms. In some cases, we have seen it used as a diversion; first harvesting credentials for later use, and then encrypting the drive to keep IT staff occupied while the attacker covers their tracks and accomplishes even more nefarious objectives."
Analysis
Although very little is known about the current attack on the NHS IT infrastructure, it is evident that procedures were in place to protect their systems. Shutting down computers and network connections to protect their digital assets.
As reports of this cyber attack in the NHS network come through, other hospitals may have to take their own preventative measures until the threat has subsided.
For more information about Ransomware, see this infographic '10 things you need to know about randsomware.'
The incident is ongoing, for updates please check your local news organisation.
