NHS computer systems hacked!?

Arazi · 12 May 2017 at 17:31

Rroff said:
Sounds like its been in the system awhile as a surgery in the North East was affected at the same time as those in the South (though interconnected without a direct network link) so sounds like a timed payload and possibly deeper into the system than what has been seen so far.

It does.

Diddums · 12 May 2017 at 17:31

Well, I guess there's a big lesson to be learned here.

Steeps · 12 May 2017 at 17:32

tibbsey said:
Ah, my bad then, didn't pick up on the humour. Guess I must be under the weather, might phone up and make an appointm... oh...

I got told by someone to go see a Doc about a cough I have, probably get some antibiotics at best... bit of an extreme way of getting out of it >.>

Arazi · 12 May 2017 at 17:33

It's the last thing the NHS needed.

MissChief · 12 May 2017 at 17:33

antijoke said:
False flag op, Tories to use this an excuse to privatise the NHS.

This. Sadly.

Azza · 12 May 2017 at 17:33

Arazi said:
Every Trust has its own money for I.T, hardly any standardisation, some trusts share resources, not many though.

I see. Well that's always going to go well isn't it!

Arazi · 12 May 2017 at 17:36

This is the NHS backbone, BBC reporting they think it is that that is infected,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N3_(NHS)

Maybe this is the fault of the telecoms companies, BT runs N3 and Telefonica is also infected apparently.

Arazi · 12 May 2017 at 17:37

Azza said:
I see. Well that's always going to go well isn't it!

I Know

It is ridiculous, they tried to standardise everything years ago and it failed in a big way, we lost billions on it i think.

Azza · 12 May 2017 at 17:38

Interesting.

h4rm0ny · 12 May 2017 at 17:39

Steeps said:
Just throw another 6bn at it, that will solve the problem.

I worked in the NHS during the initial £9bn "National Program for IT" (NPfIT) and the "Connecting for Health" and "SPINE" roll outs. I can tell you from my personal experience that very little of the money actually made it as far as engineers implementing and rolling out the systems. It vanished into management companies, agencies and well-connected people's pockets. Like water running through a series of leaky pipes. A hosepipe went in one end and a trickle came out of the other. I have never seen such corruption in my life as the Department of Health.

Dis86 · 12 May 2017 at 17:42

h4rm0ny said:
I worked in the NHS during the initial £9bn "National Program for IT" (NPfIT) and the "Connecting for Health" and "SPINE" roll outs. I can tell you from my personal experience that very little of the money actually made it as far as engineers implementing and rolling out the systems. It vanished into management companies, agencies and well-connected people's pockets. Like water running through a series of leaky pipes. A hosepipe went in one end and a trickle came out of the other. I have never seen such corruption in my life as the Department of Health.

I wouldn't even dispute that for a second. Absolutely ****-poor management throughout.

GSXRMovistar · 12 May 2017 at 17:44

Top tabloid news as ever, to get to that conclusion they required an 'expert'!

hyperseven · 12 May 2017 at 17:47

GSXRMovistar said:
Top tabloid news as ever, to get to that conclusion they required an 'expert'!

Paul McCartney is an IT expert? his talent knows no bounds.

daelo · 12 May 2017 at 17:49

Whats the cure here in black and white? pay the money?

Format every. single. computer. or software device and start again ???? Surely this is pretty catastrophic considering the amount of life changing surgery that relies on IT and the computers?

whiskycycle · 12 May 2017 at 17:51

Dis86 said:
Talking to my friend he's saying none of the surgeries or centres he deals with appear to have been impacted

We've chopped external links to stop propagation... that's Tees, Durham, Newcastle, Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside etc, so everything up to the border.

GP surgery or health clinic that we run the IT for in those areas, then they'll be isolated. Services like diabetic eye screening that we support as well, in the Northern region, also offline.

bledd · 12 May 2017 at 17:52

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx

Read on Spiceworks that it's this issue.

Keep your systems updated y0

Zbornak · 12 May 2017 at 17:52

I'm not au fait with these kind of security matters. What level of planning and resources is required to achieve what happened today?

Arazi · 12 May 2017 at 17:53

daelo said:
Whats the cure here in black and white? pay the money?

Format every. single. computer. or software device and start again ???? Surely this is pretty catastrophic considering the amount of life changing surgery that relies on IT and the computers?

I've got a feeling a lot of servers are being wiped at the moment to try and get on top of this, i hope they do, but i think this is bigger than we are seeing, it's early.

If the backbone is infected then everything that connects to it is at risk, this is going to endanger lives, poor NHS staff.

Alex_6n2 · 12 May 2017 at 17:56

RIP to IT Support staff weekend breaks.

Rroff · 12 May 2017 at 17:58

daelo said:
Whats the cure here in black and white? pay the money?

Format every. single. computer. or software device and start again ???? Surely this is pretty catastrophic considering the amount of life changing surgery that relies on IT and the computers?

Depends on their ability to monitor and/or forensically examine the attack/infection - I'd be very wary though - these types of malware are becoming more and more advanced and some can hide themselves away quite effectively to reinfect stuff later - even to the point of overwriting the firmware on NAS boxes, etc.

Alex_6n2 said:
RIP to IT Support staff weekend breaks.

My brother is currently contracting with the NHS - constantly getting calls to go to remote sites to help sort this but he has been turning them down - dunno why other than he has had a long day already as the money is good.