Ireland rejects hackers’ Bitcoin demand for health system

[ad_1]

Ireland refused to pay the hackers a bitcoin ransom, and the hackers forced most of its healthcare IT systems to shut down, making it impossible for doctors to access patient records, and patients were unsure whether they should attend appointments.

A spokesperson for the Irish Health Service Executive told the Financial Times on Friday night that he confirmed reports that someone was asking for a ransom in the cryptocurrency. He said: “The ransom has been demanded and will not be paid in accordance with national policies. .”

The Chief Executive Officer of Irish Health Services Paul Reid said in the morning radio program that the decision to shut down the system was a “preventive” measure. Previously, “very complex” cyber attacks affected national and local systems and “involved all of our core services. “.

Certain parts of the Irish health service are still operating, such as the clinical system and its Covid-19 vaccination program, which is supported by an independent infrastructure. The pre-ordered Covid test is also in progress.

However, HSE said on Twitter that the referral system for handling GPs and close contacts has been closed, adding that people who need testing should go to the walk-in center to give priority to symptomatic cases.

“This has had a serious impact on our health and social care services today, but personal services and hospital groups are affected in different ways. Emergency services continue, @AmbulanceNAS [the National Ambulance Service]”, Health Secretary Stephen Donnelly (Stephen Donnelly) wrote on Twitter.

No organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, although Reid stated on Friday morning that the attack involved “Conti, manually manipulated ransomware,” referring to the type of software used. Conti was first discovered in December 2019. According to Arete Advisors research, it is believed that hackers based in Russia or Eastern Europe usually demand a median ransom of $240,000.

Reid said: “We are in the early stages of fully understanding the threat, affecting and trying to contain it.” He added that they are receiving assistance from the Irish Police, the Defence Force and a third-party network support team.

HSE Twitter feed The hospital provides a long list of the latest developments on the services it is canceling, including non-emergency radiotherapy, X-ray, physiological and cardiac diagnostic services. Some cancellations may continue until Monday.

The dean of the Dublin Rotunda Maternity Hospital said it advises patients who are less than 36 weeks pregnant not to see a doctor on Friday. University Hospital Cork said in a statement that “unless contact with you is cancelled, patients should come forward to attend outpatient clinics, chemotherapy and surgery”, but Friday’s X-ray and radiotherapy appointments were cancelled.

Professor Donal O’Shea, consultant endocrinologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, told RTE Radio that this may have an impact on patient care. “The clinical system has not yet determined the goal, but if you can’t access the computer, then it is impossible to get results… So it will be clinically meaningful soon,” he said. University Hospital Cork said in a statement that “only emergency blood is processed at this time”.

Reid said patients across the country “should still come forward until they hear a different voice.”

The medical staff told the Financial Times that they were told turn off Their laptops keep employees offline at home, while people working in hospitals use pen and paper to manage patient information.

in a statement Tusla, the Irish Children and Family Agency, stated on its website that the emails, internal systems and portals referred by its children are also offline due to the hosting of the HSE network.

During the pandemic, there has been an increase in cybercriminals’ actions to disrupt public services. Earlier this month, hackers from Eastern Europe are believed to have compromised the IT system of the system. Colony pipeline, This is the main fuel pipeline that provides fuel for most of the eastern United States.

Charlie Smith, Barracuda Consulting Solutions Engineer, said: “The opportunistic cyber attackers targeting the flood of medical institutions have been a common theme throughout the pandemic.” “These crooks are now aware of medical care. The great significance of serving IT systems, so we will spare no effort to destroy the system or steal valuable data in exchange for ransom.”

Hannah Murphy’s other reports in San Francisco



[ad_2]

Source link