Posted by Patients will pay a human cost for cyber-attack, HSE boss Paul Reid warns
HSE chief executive Paul Reid
Eilish O’Reganin
Source: Irish Independent
Patients will pay a human cost for the cyber attack which has hit hospitals, HSE chief Paul Reid has warned today.
There are ongoing concerns about the risk of delayed diagnosis and treatment.
Mr Reid told the Oireachtas health committee it will take months to fix the system.
“So far, we have 75pc of our server estate decrypted, and 70pc of our end-user devices are now available,” he said.
The immediate financial costs for this year and 2022 will be around €100m but there will be a big long term bill, he added.
“Although we can effectively decrypt data, that is only one element. The malware must also be eradicated.
“Decryption takes much longer than the original encryption, and eradication involves additional tasks to ensure that the perpetrators have no access route back into our systems.
“There are financial costs certainly, but there will unfortunately be human costs as well. I assure members, and the public, that we are doing everything possible to restore the systems. I must also caution that it will likely take months before systems are fully restored. Accordingly, I must ask the public for continued forbearance and understanding.”
Referring to the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, he said over 3.6 million vaccines have been administered.
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