Security News > 2021 > May > New Zealand hospitals infected by ransomware, cancel some surgeries

New Zealand's Waikato District Health Board has been hit with a strain of ransomware that took down most IT services Tuesday morning and drastically reduced services at six of its affiliate hospitals.

Phone lines went down and hospitals were forced to accept urgent patients only.

At affiliate Waikato Hospital, 29 out of 102 elective inpatient surgeries were postponed today.

At affiliate Thames Hospital, all elective surgeries were postponed.

All outpatient activity was deferred at affiliate hospitals in rural areas.

The Register understands that institutions and businesses with ties to the hospital system have been alerted to the situation, are aware of the potential for the ransomware infection to spread quickly, and are acting accordingly to protect their operations.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/05/19/new_zealand_hospitals_taken_down/