Despite warning from the state’s Auditor-General, Victorian hospitals across Gippsland, Geelong and Warrnambool have been hit by a disruptive ransomware attack.
After successfully hacking into some of the state's biggest health databases earlier this year, the Auditor-General made five recommendations for Department of Health and Human Services and nine recommendations for all Victorian health services which included mandatory data security training and the implementation of cybersecurity controls.
Key weaknesses were noted in staff education which allowed for an increased risk of phishing attacks.
As predicted by the Auditor-General, hospitals in the Gippsland Health Alliance and South West Alliance of Rural Health were targeted by the attack causing surgeries and appointments to be cancelled.
The attack, which was uncovered on Monday, blocked access to several systems by the infiltration of ransomware and according to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, will take up to weeks of work to completely secure the network.
Upon initial investigation, the department said there was no suggestion that personal patient information had been accessed but said further inquiries would be necessary.
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Source: ABC News