London Hospitals Hit by Major Cyberattacks

At least four National Health Service hospitals in London were hit by cyberattacks on Tuesday, which impacted nhs services, especially their ability to conduct blood tests and transfusions.

The attack is having a “major impact” on Guy’s and St. Thomas’s nhs trust, its chief executive said. King’s College and at least two other hospitals have been affected as well, leaving them unable to connect to the servers of the private firm that provides their pathology services.

The private firm, Synnovis, was likely targeted by a type of ransomware that locks up a computer system and forces a ransom payment to restore access. While labs were still functional, communication was limited to paper only, forcing cancellations or reassignments of almost all but the most urgent blood work.

Not the first time: The nhs has been hit by major cyberattacks over the past decade.

• In 2017, an attack known as “WannaCry” cost the nhs an estimated $118 million and canceled 19,000 appointments.
• In 2022, another attack shut down the non-emergency 111 service and took down management systems for mental health services and emergency prescriptions.

Overlooked vulnerability: Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has long warned of Britain’s and America’s overreliance on vulnerable computer networks and other cybertechnologies. In 1995, he quoted analyst Joseph de Courcy, who called this dependence “the Western world’s Achilles’ heel.” Bible prophecy indicates this vulnerability will soon be exploited to the full.

Learn more: Read “America’s Achilles Heel.”