NHS Lanarkshire officials reported cancellations and delays following their discovery of a ransomware variant called Bit Paymer. Bit Paymer is an intricate ransomware targeting large companies, according to Bleeping Computer. In the past, cyberattackers using Bit Paymer have charged targets as much as $230,000 to recover encrypted files.
NHS Lanarkshire officials acknowledged the incident in a statement on the organization’s Facebook page Aug. 25. The statement noted the board’s hospitals were experiencing difficulties with their IT systems, and suggested patients only present at the facilities for essential services while systems were down.
Officials released an additional statement Aug. 26, which said staff were working to secure and reinstate the organization’s IT systems.
“Unfortunately a small number of procedures and appointments have been cancelled as a result of the incident,” NHS Lanarkshire CEO Calum Campbell said in the statement. “The majority of services have been restored but it may take some time to get services running as normal. We would ask patients who are attending hospital or out-of-hours services over the weekend to bear with us as they may experience longer than waits than usual.”
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