Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) said it had suffered a major cyber attack on Friday that disrupted  surgeries and hospitals, mainly in England. The NHS was hit with  ransomware  that holds your data hostage until payment has been made. Here is what we know so far: 

• 16 NHS organizations have been affected
• Hospitals have reported major disruptions. People have been asked not to seek medical attention unless it is urgent
• Outpatient appointments have been rescheduled for a later date
• There is no evidence to support the claim that patient data had been accessed 

An NHS statement read: “A number of organizations have reported to NHS Digital that they have been affected by a ransomware attack which is affecting a number of different organizations. The investigation is at an early stage but we believe the malware variant is Wanna Decryptor.

Microsoft has released a security patch in March for this exploit.  The exploit was leaked last month as part of a trove of NSA spy tools.  “ EternalBlue ” seems to be the most significant factor in the outbreak.    Keep your machines updated to ensure the vulnerability is properly patched.

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