ToplineIreland’s national health service operator was hit by a major ransomware attack that forced it to shut down all of its IT systems, the government agency announced on Friday, adding that its Covid-19 vaccination program remains unaffected. NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey FactsIn a statement issued on Twitter, Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) described the incident as a “significant ransomware attack” on its IT systems and noted that it has shut down all its systems as a precaution to protect them while assessing the situation. TangentProf Malone said the Rotunda learned in the early hours of the morning that its systems had been hit by a Conti ransomware attack. In 2017, the British National Health Services (NHS) and several general practitioners in the U.K. were hit by ransomware that used the National Security Agency’s (NSA) leaked WannaCry cyberattack tool. Further ReadingHSE shuts down IT system after 'significant' cyber attack (RTE)Irish health service hit by ransomware attack, vaccine rollout unaffected (Reuters)

Source: Forbes May 14, 2021 10:31 UTC