Latest Expert Witness News

Computer virus in hospitals may have been sabotage

A computer virus that has wreaked havoc at three London hospitals may have been planted deliberately. Some non-urgent testing was delayed such as blood testing and minor operations, accident and emergency services were also disrupted after the computer service, used by up to 8,000 staff, had to be shut down. No patient is coming to clinical harm as a result of a delay.

Three London hospitals have been affected, they are St Bartholomew's Hospital, the Royal London Hospital and the London Chest Hospital, as well as an administrative headquarters.

The cause of the computer failure is thought to be the Mytob virus, which affects Windows operating systems and is spread by email. The rogue emails contain an attachment, known as an "executable file", that once opened, will infect the computer network.

It is feared that the virus may have been introduced by a disgruntled ex-employee.

The virus caused disruption on Monday and Tuesday last week

The priority was to get the computer system back in full use, which has been completed. The hospitals have said that no evidence had been found so far that this was a malicious attack.

back