Computer Virus Update: As of November 2nd, NHS is still struggling to get their systems up and running as normal. According to Graham Cluley, outpatient and diagnostic procedures were cancelled for today, with the exception of a few select services.
NHS Trust canceled all operations at three hospitals after a computer virus spread throughout their systems. It has been speculated that the virus is ransomware. If the attack is indeed ransomware, it wouldn’t be the first time the hospital organization has been hit. On October 10, 2016 we reported NHS being a primary ransomware target, with multiple successful attacks already occurring.
With it only being a matter of time before the next ransomware attack, it isn’t exactly surprising that it took place. The extent of the damage is what can be identified as the most concerning. With NHS already being the victim of ransomware attacks, one would hope they would take proactive measures to prevent further attacks. However, that apparently is not the case. Daily Mail UK reports 1,000 outpatient appointments, procedures, and operations were canceled and will not be rescheduled until systems are back to normal.
Computer Virus Protection Prevents Malware
Hopefully, NHS will see the latest attack as the last straw and advance their security to prevent future malware infections. With the use of application whitelisting, these IT staff can prevent these types of malware attacks. As malware attempts to execute on your PC, it is scanned for security. Once scanned and compared to the whitelist, a list of known safe programs, it will not be allowed to execute.
This approach is more effective at blocking malware than the blacklist approach, a list of all known unsafe programs, because it is impossible to keep up with every new malware variant created on a daily basis. PC Matic Pro is available for business use, and includes application whitelisting technology. Learn more about antivirus protection.
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