North Korea was most likely behind a cyberattack that affected one-third of Britain’s health care system, a government minister has revealed.
But the “unsophisticated” attack on May 12 could have been thwarted simply by following basic IT security, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report published on Thursday Oct. 27.
The attack froze NHS computers with WannaCry, a kind of ransom malware that encrypts infected computers, demanding a payment to restore the computer to normal.
The WannaCry attack caused 19,500 medical appointments in the NHS—which provides the majority of all healthcare in the UK—to be cancelled and five hospitals were forced to divert ambulances after staff were locked out of computers.
The cyberattack was not limited to the UK and is thought to have affected over 100 countries worldwide, affecting various companies and organisations. The NHS is one of the largest organisations in the world, the 5th largest employer of any organisation, public or private.Speaking to the BBC on Oct. 27, Home Office Minister Ben Wallace said that the government was “as sure as possible” that North Korea was behind the attack.
“This attack, we believe quite strongly that it came from a foreign state,” he said.
