Cyber attack: Two Indonesian hospitals, German rail operator affected

A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the US National Security Agency hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain’s health system and infected computers in nearly 100 countries on Friday.

Reuters

Cyber attack

A window announcing the encryption of data including a requirement to pay appears on an electronic timetable display at the railway station in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, on May 12.(AFP Photo)

    WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, described by the EU’s law enforcement agency as “unprecedented”.

    Here are some of the affected victims, from major hospitals in Indonesia to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) to Russian interior ministry.

    At least two of Indonesia’s major hospitals have been struck in the “ransomware” cyber attack that infected computers globally, a government official said on Saturday.

    Dharmais Hospital and Harapan Kita Hospital in Jakarta are affected by the ransomware, said Semuel Pangerapan, a director general at Indonesia’s Communication and Information Ministry.

    “Efforts to localise the infected server are underway to prevent (the ransomware) from spreading,” he said, adding that his ministry was working with other authorities, including the Health Ministry, to solve the problem.

    German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said on Saturday its systems were infected by a global cyber attack that caused computer turmoil in nearly 100 countries.

    It said in a statement that train services were not disrupted but some electronic boards at stations announcing arrivals and departures had been affected.

    Pictures posted online by travellers showed red windows appearing on announcement boards with a message demanding a cash payment to restore access. Deutsche Bahn said it was working to rectify the problem.

    German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said government computer systems were not affected.

    The cyber attack hit international shipper FedEx and disrupted Britain’s health care system. Researchers at security software maker Avast said they had observed 57,000 infections in 99 countries with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan the top targets.

    Russian banks and ministries

    Russia’s central bank was targeted, along with several government ministries and the railway system. The interior ministry said 1,000 of its computers were hit by a virus. Officials played down the incident, saying the attacks had been contained.

    The British public health service – the world’s fifth-largest employer, with 1.7 million staff — was badly hit, with interior minister Amber Rudd saying around 45 facilities were affected. Several were forced to cancel or delay treatment for patients.

    Pictures on social media showed screens of NHS computers with images demanding payment of $300 (230 pounds, 275 euros) in the virtual currency Bitcoin, saying: “Ooops, your files have been encrypted!”

    The French automobile giant was hit, forcing it to halt production at sites in France and its factory in Slovenia as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus.

    Nissan UK’s unit in Sunderland was hit by the attack, spokeswoman Lucy Banwell said.