London hospital services hit by ransomware incident

LONDON — A ransomware incident is having a significant impact on the delivery of services at some of London’s busiest hospitals, the region’s health service said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Synnovis, a provider of lab services, was the victim of the incident, a spokesperson for the state-run National Health Service (NHS) England London region said in a statement.

“This is having a significant impact on the delivery of services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and primary care services in south east London,” the statement added.

The health service said it was working “urgently” with the country’s main cyber security agency, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and its own cyber operations team to fully understand the impact of the incident.

A cyber incident in May 2017, which disrupted businesses and government services worldwide, impacted more than a third of England’s 236 NHS trusts and led to the cancellation of an estimated 19,000 appointments in the spa of a week.