NHS computer systems hacked!?

JohnnyG · 12 May 2017 at 16:39

This is just another sign of the Tory's incompetence.
If Labour were in charge they would just pay the £200, £2000 or £2000000 ransom and get it fixed.

KiNgPiN83 · 12 May 2017 at 16:42

Well, the sun are reporting that they are demanding $300 in bitcoin. So either the sun don't have a clue what they are talking about or the hackers are low rent hackers..

Mynight · 12 May 2017 at 16:43

KiNgPiN83 said:
Well, the sun are reporting that they are demanding $300 in bitcoin. So either the sun don't have a clue what they are talking about or the hackers are low rent hackers..

Per affected computer I would imagine.

touch · 12 May 2017 at 16:44

KiNgPiN83 said:
Well, the sun are reporting that they are demanding $300 in bitcoin. So either the sun don't have a clue what they are talking about or the hackers are low rent hackers..

Each individual computer is encrypted with a unique key, thats $300 per computer.

Minibiker · 12 May 2017 at 16:44

So when something like this happens or if a PC has a virus is it best to just reinstall Windows.. Noob with the technical side of stuff sorry

Minibiker · 12 May 2017 at 16:45

So when something like this happens or if a PC has a virus is it best to just reinstall Windows.. Noob with the technical side of stuff sorry

Nitefly · 12 May 2017 at 16:45

What a crappy thing to do. So crappy actually you have to wonder if the NHS was actually the target.

touch · 12 May 2017 at 16:47

Minibiker said:
So when something like this happens or if a PC has a virus is it best to just reinstall Windows.. Noob with the technical side of stuff sorry

It's a cryptolocker style attack. It has encrypted all of the files on the computer and the only way you can decrypt them is to pay the ransom and hope they decrypt it for you.

If you have all of your files backed up, you can wipe your system and restore everything. If you dont have a backup, you dont have many options.

Narj · 12 May 2017 at 16:47

As above, someone's clicked on or opened something they shouldn't and it's propagated through the network or email system, most likely.

I doubt it was a specific cyber-attack on the NHS.

Mynight · 12 May 2017 at 16:47

Minibiker said:
So when something like this happens or if a PC has a virus is it best to just reinstall Windows.. Noob with the technical side of stuff sorry

If antimalware and antivirus can't kill it it's easier and safer just to start again. If you have backups that aren't connected to your pc then it's not an issue as you can just download again.

Ransomware tends to encrypt anything you could use to recover your system so it's futile trying anything other than paying or hoping that someone releases a key generator within the allotted time.

Roar87 · 12 May 2017 at 16:48

Minibiker said:
So when something like this happens or if a PC has a virus is it best to just reinstall Windows.. Noob with the technical side of stuff sorry

Yeah but they'll lose all the data on the PC.

Surely this should be considered an attack on our countries infrastructure, I would hope GCHQ and MI6 would be looking into this and finding who did it

Xire · 12 May 2017 at 16:49

I work for a medical imaging solutions company that has our client installed across 80 NHS hospitals.

Today hasn't been fun, that is for sure.

Buckster · 12 May 2017 at 16:49

Sounds like NHS just happened to get stung if has happened to other companies elsewhere in the world

Considering how this sort of malware works how they going to get back to pre maleware?

They've said no data acessed but that's all very well and good I belive that but what happens if that data that is there has been encrypted ?!

gbgt2 · 12 May 2017 at 16:49

This reminds me of a story a security consultant told when I was at a conference last year - The NHS uses smartcards that you have to insert into the keyboard to access the IT system. An NHS manager was explaining to him how super secure this system was when they walked up to a PC and he saw that someone had cut the card in half and sellotaped it into the slot with a note saying "DO NOT REMOVE!!"

Minibiker · 12 May 2017 at 16:49

Ahhh i see.. so when you say backed up not connected to your pc do you mean on external devices etc

mmj_uk · 12 May 2017 at 16:50

WikiLeaks exposed the fact that the CIA had found security holes in industrial hardware routers/switches and rather than alert the manufacturers they just kept quiet so that they could spy themselves, I thought at the time it's pretty stupid to think hackers wouldn't find those same holes sooner or later. That said I bet some NHS computers are still running Windows 95.

PinkFloyd · 12 May 2017 at 16:50

antijoke said:
Seeing reports that Santander, Telefonica and KPMG are also hit.

Ooops.

Comms company in Portugal, PT, also hit.

Any more background on other companies potentially being hit here? Any sources?

Armageus · 12 May 2017 at 16:51

Roar87 said:
Yeah but they'll lose all the data on the PC.

Ideally there shouldn't be any data on individual PCs though (should all be on properly protected servers/NAS/SAN etc), so should just be a case or reimaging a load of PCs.

Spud21 · 12 May 2017 at 16:51

Roar87 said:
Yeah but they'll lose all the data on the PC.

Surely this should be considered an attack on our countries infrastructure, I would hope GCHQ and MI6 would be looking into this and finding who did it

Aren't the NSC a part of GCHQ? if so they are already on it as well as the NCA. Not sure how easy it is to trace ransomware, expeically if it has lain dormant for a time on the system and just activated today.

Rannoch · 12 May 2017 at 16:51

Minibiker said:
So when something like this happens or if a PC has a virus is it best to just reinstall Windows.. Noob with the technical side of stuff sorry

Or use Macrium or other software to backup your system daily, keep as many revisions a large hard disk can hold, once the disk fills up the oldest backup is deleted.

Password protect the back-ups.