The NHS suspects up to 19,000 patients were affected due to 2017’s WannaCry attack

The NHS suspects up to 19,000 patients were affected due to 2017’s WannaCry attack -

Ransomware is the cyber-threat that has been growing for years, but finally hit mainstream headlines in 2017 with the WannaCry infection. This worldwide attack affected businesses of all sizes around the globe; most notably in the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) was hit.

Healthcare organisations are no stranger to targeted malware and Ransomware attacks; their reliance on outdated infrastructure and systems and the fact that a good attack could put lives at risk make them an easy target. Hackers are relying on the pressure of risking lives to force healthcare workers into making a payment. While no loss of life was attributed to the WannaCry attack, it had a significant effect on the NHS.

Almost 7000 appointments, including operations and urgent cancer treatments, were cancelled because of the WannaCry attack; however the NHS suspects that a total of 19000 were affected in total. 81 out of 236 trusts in total were affected, as well as 603 additional NHS organisations, including GP’s offices.

This infographic from IT support company TSG explores the rapid rise of Ransomware, how it can affect healthcare organisations and offers advice on how to avoid falling victim to this ever-growing threat.

http://res.cloudinary.com/loreleiweb/image/upload/v1522997858/Ransomware_infographic_-_from_Technology_Services_Group_nnsscv.png