Computer bug infects 3 UK hospitals
p2pnet news view | Security:- Patients at three hospitals in London, England, were affected by a computer virus.
The systems were still down on this morning after PCs were apparently disabled with malware, says the IDG News Service.
“No patient data was at risk of disclosure,” story quotes William Mach, a spokesman for the UK’s National Health Service, as saying, but, “As a precaution, computers were shut down at St Bartholomew’s, the Royal London Hospital and The London Chest Hospital.
“When the infection became known, ambulances were diverted to other hospitals, as it was easier to admit patients using unaffected computer systems rather than revert to a paper-based admission systems, Mach said.”
There was no indication the virus infection was part of a malicious attack, says The Guardian, but, “engineers are still investigating where the virus came from and what it is.” The bug did not infect the patient record system and there was no evidence that it spread to other trusts”.
The the system shutdowns chain just as a survey by GP newspaper Pulse, “revealed widespread breaches of computer security by NHS staff,” it adds.
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IDG News Service - British Hospitals Hit With Malware Attack, November 19, 2008
The Guardian - Computer virus strikes at three London hospitals, November 19, 2008
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November 19th, 2008 at 10:57 am
How many of those PC’s were running Windows?
November 19th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
More computer goodness. It would definitely be interesting to see how the virus got on here, that’s for sure.
Also, the Hospital Mettool is cute.