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LISTEN: HSE Cyberattack was a 'Bad Day at the office' for criminals

LISTEN: HSE Cyberattack was a 'Bad Day at the office' for criminals

Kevin Galvin

Russian Hackers wouldn't have chosen the HSE as an ideal target.

That's according to the Tech Editor of the Irish Independent.

Private businesses typically pay off these types of criminals to preserve client confidentiality, however the Government has reaffirmed their commitment not to succumb to the ransom.

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The recent attack on Ireland's health service is still affecting systems, with some staff being paid the wrong amounts last week.

While the organisation has confirmed that private patient and administrative information has been leaked onto the dark web.

Speaking to Beat News, Adrian Weckler says the cybercriminals were left empty-handed.

"If they could pick and choose their target, they probably wouldn't pick an organisation like the HSE - because now the government says they won't pay the ransom, it weakens the hackers position.

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"Overall I would say it's been a bad day at the office for them."

However, Weckler does believe the attack has thrown into the spotlight Ireland's readiness in the battle against cybercrime, which the journalist feels the country hasn't taken seriously enough to this point.

Weckler compared Ireland's response to that in countries like the UK and France.

"Within hours there will be hundreds of people - experts in their field - who will be across the area, who will be scouring the dark web, who will have their own sources in terms of who might be responsible.

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"We just don't have that, because we're not setup like that. We regard that kind of thing to be for a military country, and we aren't a military country."

You can hear the full conversation below:

 

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