A massive cyber attack was launched on Britain’s National Health Services blocking doctors from gaining access to patient files and causing panic among patients hailing from 16 healthcare institutions. As per our sources, a similar attack was also launched on Spanish and Portuguese companies like Telefonica which happens to be Spain’s largest Telecom operator.
Some companies operating in countries like Ukraine and Italy also reported having cyber attacked with Ransomware where hackers are said to be demanding millions as a ransom to decrypt the encrypted files.
According to Reuters, the attack on NHS of Britain seems to be more serious, as it caused some life and death implications on emergency services.
Tom Donnelly, a spokesperson for NHS Digital Arm of the health services said in a media briefing that almost 16 health care institutions including clinician services were hit by an attack and might take some time to recuperate from the cyber exploit.
Mr. Tom also disclosed that attack was a ransomware attack of a variant known as Wanna Decryptor and the hackers were demanding $17,000 to release the files. On an initial note, they are demanding a ransom of $300 or £230 by the end of this day for keeping files intact from deletion till a consensus in negotiations is reached.
At this stage, Tom is sure that the data would not have been accessed by the hackers. But the National Cyber Security Center has been pressed into service to probe into the matter from different angles.
And as per a BBC report, the attack took place at 3:30 PM on 16 organizations working under NHS umbrella. It includes hospitals in London and Nottingham, the town of Blackburn, and the counties of Cumbria and Hertfordshire.
From the north and southwestern seaside town, hospitals from Blackpool and Southport were also reported to have been affected.
What amuses the media is that though the damage has been done and is visible, GCHQ still boasts of protecting the citizens of UK just minutes after the NHS Cyber Attack.
More details are awaited!
