topic Re: NHS Computer System Hacked in The Round Table

NHS Computer System Hacked

upthecreekyetagain — Fri, 12 May 2017 15:03:30 GMT

With all the potential commercial victims available what sort of twisted individual or group decides to hold the NHS to ransom risking the lives of thousands?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-cyber-attack-hospitals-hack-england-emergency-patients-divert-shut-down-a7732816.html

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

littleme61_6 — Fri, 12 May 2017 15:56:41 GMT

Outrageous this is. I was totally shocked when I came across it in the news.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

fallen-archie — Fri, 12 May 2017 16:39:48 GMT

It is awful and whoever is responsible should be locked up for a long time.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

cee-dee — Fri, 12 May 2017 17:45:49 GMT

The local GP practice phoned me around 4:30 and chatting to them, I asked if they'd heard about it. They hadn't so I wonder 1/ how widespread the problem is and 2/ why the local Health Board hadn't alerted all GPs?

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

upthecreekyetagain — Fri, 12 May 2017 17:50:08 GMT

The current list of those targeted:-

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/nhs-hacked-full-list-hospitals-13027590

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

al**bear — Sat, 13 May 2017 04:56:54 GMT

Computers running old (unsupported) systems, People who have not updated their Windows OS, all around the World have been infected

It was not a targeted attack, it just swept around, easy targets

Windows actually warned People about this last month

and even gave out another warning THIS week (I put a thread up about that warning) - that if acted upon would have protected a lot of people, now held to ransom

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

al**bear — Sat, 13 May 2017 05:05:01 GMT

NHS computer systems are ancient and are run on a shoestring budget, with maintenance taking most of the cash and real Security being an afterthought in most areas

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

upthecreekyetagain — Sat, 13 May 2017 07:34:46 GMT

The infection may well have been random - the demand for payment to decrypt files is not.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

upthecreekyetagain — Sat, 13 May 2017 07:41:04 GMT

It would appear that many of the systems attacked by the malware were running XP for which there are no longer updates available.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

al**bear — Sat, 13 May 2017 08:00:07 GMT

Major warnings given out on these specific vunerablities

Guess who, at the time, was in Charge of the Government departments, who should have acted on these warnings

Yip twas Me

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

fallen-archie — Sat, 13 May 2017 08:34:42 GMT

Surely it is right to prioritise spending on clinical needs rather than being held hostage by hackers, who in their right mind would target the sick? Of course this will be held up as incompetent but do we have an endless pot of money?

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

cee-dee — Sat, 13 May 2017 11:10:52 GMT

Microsoft commented that anyone with a free anti-virus and had kept their system updated would be protected from the attack soooooo, what were the IT "specialists/technicians" doing in leaving systems unprotected?

There are people employed to "maintain" systems so what were they playing at leaving such systems open to attack.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

littleme61_6 — Sat, 13 May 2017 11:45:38 GMT

So right there!. They have a lot of serious questions to answer.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

joe_bloggs* — Sat, 13 May 2017 17:15:18 GMT

Letter from 2014 shows Government halted funding for XP support in the NHS even though they knew the risk was URGENT:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/314721/DHandCabinetOfficeMicrosoftXPupdate8April14.pdf

Apparently our nuclear subs also run on XP !

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

upthecreekyetagain — Sat, 13 May 2017 21:44:14 GMT

@cee-dee wrote:
Microsoft commented that anyone with a free anti-virus and had kept their system updated would be protected from the attack soooooo, what were the IT "specialists/technicians" doing in leaving systems unprotected?

There are people employed to "maintain" systems so what were they playing at leaving such systems open to attack.

The problem is that Microsoft no longer issue security updates, (or any other kind), for XP - most, if not all, of the commercial network security software providers have also stopped issuing updates - there is no point blaming the IT guys who have been the target of the cuts, (counted as management in the NHS), and don't have the resources to upgrade systems to prevent these sorts of attacks.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

cee-dee — Sat, 13 May 2017 21:59:25 GMT

Microsoft actually issued a fix for the defect in March that would have stopped the attack. It's been admitted that many people didn't apply it.

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

upthecreekyetagain — Sat, 13 May 2017 22:21:25 GMT

@cee-dee wrote:
Microsoft actually issued a fix for the defect in March that would have stopped the attack. It's been admitted that many people didn't apply it.

They didn't issue a fix for XP - nor for Windows 8 or Server 2003 - they have however released a fix for these operating systems today.

https://www.ft.com/content/348d4f7a-3808-11e7-821a-6027b8a20f23

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

joe_bloggs* — Sat, 13 May 2017 22:58:34 GMT

The cuts or "savings" might in fact cost more in the long run,as the cost of fixing the attack,cancelled operarions and updating their systems mounts up,the same happened in the prison service,social care,flood defence "savings" and others cost more in the long run,many costs being passed on to other public services,of course waste should be cut,but cutting in the name of austerity for short term gain doesn't seem to be working when in the long term the costs are greater with more damage to repair

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

al**bear — Sun, 14 May 2017 06:35:55 GMT

Tories were paying Microsoft £5.5 million to provide security for Windows XP.

This was stopped by cost cutting in May 2015

Re: NHS Computer System Hacked

al**bear — Sun, 14 May 2017 06:39:53 GMT

The Government were warned