Saolta confirms UHG hit by computer virus

Computer systems at University Hospital Galway (UHG) were infected with malware, management have confirmed.

The ‘ransomware’ malware encrypts files on PCs and threatens to wipe them unless the attacker is paid a certain amount of money, within a certain timeframe.

Information may have been removed but the city hospital said it has no evidence that it was.

Saolta, the group which manages UHG, confirmed the cyber-attack of June 2016 last year. It said data was encrypted but not lost.

In response to a series of questions from this newspaper, Saolta said the ‘ransomware’ attack occurred in a ‘stand-alone’ UHG service, which suggests that it was an autonomous computer, and that it did not spread to the main UHG computer network.

Galway Gardaí and the Office of Data Commissioner were informed of the attack.

Saolta said an email, which contained ransomware malware, was received in a stand-alone UHG service in June 2016, and was “inadvertently opened by a member of staff.”

Saolta said: “Ransomware typically does not remove data from the system and we have no evidence that any data was removed. Data was not lost – it was encrypted. The service maintained back-up pape- based records and they continued to be available.

“The standalone unit has now been added to the HSE Data Network infrastructure and is now protected from an IT perspective in line with all other HSE premises including having full anti-virus and backup services.

“IT issue regular reminders advising staff about Ransonware and risk associated with opening emails from unexpected sources. We are aware of the increasing risks in ICT and we continue to review our strategy on threats such as Ransomware working with the broader HSE.”