Scourge · May 14 2021

The Scourge of Ireland's Health Service

Chronicle

Just after midnight on 14 May 2021 Conti ransomware encrypted most of the IT systems of the Health Service Executive, Ireland's national health service. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic appointments were cancelled and hospitals went back to paper. The attackers had got in eight weeks earlier through an Excel file attached to a phishing email, and warning signs went unheeded. Ireland refused to pay; Conti later handed over a decryptor, but full recovery took months.

Lesson learned

The independent review commissioned by the HSE, published with rare candour, described a fragile, underfunded system and became a reference for public-health cybersecurity.

Prayer of reparation

For the patients who waited for care and answers, and for the health workers who carried on with pen and paper in the middle of a pandemic, we ask strength and gratitude. Let those who safeguard everyone's health also have the means to protect it. Amen.

How it is remembered

Remembered by investing in public-health security, having people ready to act on antivirus alerts and preparing hospitals to work without computers.