A week after the largest US fuel pipeline network was hacked, Ireland’s health authority said on Friday that it had shut down its computer systems after experiencing a “significant ransomware attack”
International cybercriminals were blamed for the Irish attack, which was reported to be targeting healthcare records, but officials said patient safety was not jeopardized.
Commenting on the development, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said “We have taken the precaution of shutting down all our IT systems in order to protect them from this attack and to allow us (to) fully assess the situation with our own security partners,”
“We apologise for inconvenience caused to patients and to the public and will give further information as it becomes available,” it added stating that the coronavirus vaccination program in Ireland was unaffected and “going ahead as planned”.
Last Friday, another ransomware attack forced the shutdown of the US’s largest fuel distribution system, resulting in some panic buying at gas stations along the east coast. Moscow has denied US allegations that the cyber attack was carried out by a Russian-based group.
The attack in Ireland was “an internationally operated criminal operation” according to HSE chief executive Paul Reid, who said the authorities was collaborating with police, the army, and the country’s major IT security providers.
“We are at the very early stages of fully understanding the threat,” he told Irish broadcaster RTE, adding it was trying to “contain” the issue.
The cyberattack, according to hospital chief Fergal Malone, targeted computers that stored patient records.