Computers have been infected with "ransomware" demanding payments of as much as United States dollars 600 to restore access and scrambling data.
The prime minister said the government is not aware of any patient data being compromised.At least 16 organisations within the NHS, some of which are responsible for several hospitals each, have reported being struck.
Hackers launched a massive cyber attack.
Still, only a small number of US-headquartered organizations were hit because the hackers appear to have begun the campaign by targeting organizations in Europe, said Vikram Thakur, research manager with security software maker Symantec.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but the acts deeply alarmed cybersecurity experts and underscored the enormous vulnerabilities to Internet invasions faced by disjointed networks of computer systems around the world.
"Undoing the hack is going to be just about impossible", he said.
£415,000), saying: "Ooops, your files have been encrypted!"
"You can decrypt some of your files for free", reads the message, which we're seeing today in a variety of languages. "First, there is no guarantee the criminals will release your data", he said, "and second, even if you do have your data released, there is no guarantee the criminals won't repeat the exercise". You only have 3 days to submit the payment. After that, the price would be doubled.
The window includes a countdown clock that threatens the files will be lost permanently in seven days.
The attack exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was patched in March but not on machines that had not been updated or patched, according to NPR. It was reportedly distributed by the Shadow Brokers, which claimed to have hacked an NSA-linked team of hackers last August.
At least one Russian agency was hit by the ransomware - a fact that emerged after earlier conflicting reports.
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"As of now the virus has been localized", ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk told TASS. The fact that the Russian Interior Ministry appears to compromised is a moment for schadenfreude around the Internet, a sentiment which will be only magnified when an infection strikes a major USA government network.
"I don't believe it will have been a targeted attack, but will simply have been that the ransomware has sought out those organizations that are running susceptible devices", said Woodward, according to The Washington Post.
All told, several cybersecurity firms said they had identified the malicious software in upward of 60 countries, including the United States, though its effects in the USA did not appear to be widespread, at least in the initial hours.
Kalember says it is spreading rapidly, making it hard to identify "patient zero" and attribute the attack to a particular hacker group.
FedEx appears to be the first US -based target. It said the company was working with its customers to provide additional assistance. "Information shared with DHS as part of these efforts, including whether a request has been made, is confidential". "If you lock systems we can't access blood tests or scans or clinical information, so what drugs patients are taking - what medications - what the dosage is, what they're allergic to, all of that for example". All that has to happen is your computer is on and on the network.
"A number of NHS organisations have reported to NHS Digital that they have been affected by a ransomware attack", NHS Digital said in a statement.
The majority of the affected hospitals were in England, although similar attacks were reported in facilities in Scotland, as well as some pharmacies and doctors' practices.
"At this stage we do not have any evidence that patient data has been accessed".
NHS England then came out to say it was aware of the problem and would release more details soon.
The U.K.'s National Cyber Security Center says it's working with both the digital office of the NHS and law enforcement.
An global cyber attack on Friday, May 12, struck countries including the United Kingdom and Spain, British Prime Minister Theresa May said, as security experts warned it could affect many other countries.
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