NHS fear further disruption due to cyber breach. Image – Wikimedia

The NHS has today urged patients to use hospitals wisely in the wake of the cyber attacks which happened at the end of last week.

Disruption is expected to carry on this week as the virus, known as Wanna Decryptor or WannaCry, infected 200,000 machines in 150 countries since Friday.

Latest guidance for the NHS on protecting against cyber attack issued by @NHSDigital#nhscyberattackhttps://t.co/M9Yb7xuw3a

— NHS England (@NHSEngland) 14 May 2017

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said he was disappointed at the suggestion that the problem was down to NHS manager incompetence.

He also said that many hospitals use sophisticated technology such as MRI and CT scanners which are often linked to older operating systems which had left them susceptible to the virus.
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In a statment issued last night, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith criticised the way governments store sensitive information.

They distanced themselves from any blame, pointing out a Windows security update in March was issued to take the cyber attack, but many users were yet to update the software.

The need for urgent collective action to keep people safe online: Lessons from last week’s cyberattack https://t.co/U5il7NOqY4

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) 14 May 2017