Of the 48 affected NHS England hospitals, six remain unoperational

Image
ANI London [UK]
Last Updated : May 13 2017 | 11:28 PM IST

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said that Friday's cyber attack has affected 48 of the 248 NHS trusts in England, with all but six now back to normal.

Rudd said that all A&E departments are operating as normal, after chairing a meeting of Cobra, the government's emergency response committee, on Saturday afternoon, reports the Guardian.

A fifth of the trusts were hit by the ransomware on Friday afternoon, forcing hospitals to cancel and delay treatment.

Rudd said: "Of the 48 that have been impacted, most of them are back to normal course of business, so only six of them have some limits on their business.

The Home Secretary admitted that outdated software left some NHS systems vulnerable, adding that it is important to remember that it was not the health service alone that has been affected.

"If you look at who's been impacted by this virus, it's a huge variety across different industries and across international governments. This is a virus that attacked Windows platforms. The fact is the NHS has fallen victim to this," Rudd said.

"I don't think it's to do with that preparedness. There's always more we can all do to make sure we're secure against viruses, but I think there have already been good preparations in place by the NHS to make sure they were ready for this sort of attack," she added.

NHS Digital said engineers are working "around the clock" to fix the problem.

It was reported that the malware that affected NHS England hit companies and government organizations in at least seven countries including Russia, Spain, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 13 2017 | 11:28 PM IST

Next Story