UK Hospitals Hit with Ransomware

A new strain of ransomware has struck a hospital group in the UK, forcing the cancellation of appointments.

According to TechRepublic, NHS Lanarkshire detected Bitpaymer ransomware on August 25. Bitpaymer encrypts the victim’s data and threatens to release the sensitive information unless the victim pays the ransom of 50 Bitcoins (over $200,000).  

The hospital says the attack didn’t spread across their entire network, but instead only impacted a few systems. However, they asked patients avoid visiting the hospital unless it was an emergency, as they may experience a lengthy wait.

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