Q&A What is happening with the attack on the HSE?

almost 3 years in The Irish Times

Not a lot is known at the moment, as the situation is evolving one, but the HSE has shut down a lot of its major systems while it assesses the scale of the attack.
When did the attack start?
The HSE became aware of the attack overnight, according to chief executive Paul Reid, with the crisis management team taking action and IT systems were shut down as a precautionary measure. No ransom demand has been made yet, but the situation is still evolving.
What is a ransomware attack?
A ransomware attack is a type of malware that encrypts data or blocks access to services until a ransom - typically untraceable - is paid.
What has the attack affected?
The HSE said this is a “human operated” attack, with access to information as the target. Critical equipment and systems are thought to be unaffected by the incident, but core services across local and national services have been impacted.
That means the electronic patient charts, for example, are inaccessible, with hospital switching to paper back ups. The vaccination programme has not be impacted.
What does it mean for services?
That is another evolving situation. Some have cancelled out-patient appointments, with the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin among those that has cancelled clinics for the day as its electronic patient records are inaccesssible.
How serious is this?
The HSE is treating this is as a major incident, calling in security experts and national resources to deal with the issue. However, it is not yet clear the scale of the attack, or what - if any - information has been compromised.
Has this happened before?
In 2017, hackers hit a range of targets from the UK’s National Health Service to European telecoms company Telefónica in a ransomware attack using tools stolen from the US National Security Agency. A section 39 agency in Co Wexford was affected by the cyber attack, but the HSE’s preventative action was thought to have limited the impact.

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