HSE failed to react to alert 8 weeks before cyber attack

Report finds the IT system was 'frail. Hackers operated without investigation

- CATE MCCURRY

HACKERS unlocked the HSE system eight weeks before the cyber attack when an email attachment was opened and caused a meltdown.

A report into the Health Service Executive ransomware attack found there were “several missed opportunities” to detect malicious activity.

An independent review, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, found that the HSE failed to respond to several alerts after phishing email was opened.

The report found that the health service was operating on a “frail IT” system that does not have the required resilience and security, nor proper resources.

It revealed that the low level of cybersecurity, combined with the frail IT system, enabled the attackers to access it with “relative ease".

The ransomware attack on the HSE, which occurred in May, caused major disruption to the health service.

It led to mass cancellations of appointments and surgeries.