Email and internet access now restored

Email and internet access now restored

Photo of Trust Chief Executive, Dr Sara MunroAccess to the internet and email systems have now been restored within the Trust following the global cyber attack reported on Friday 12 May.

The Trust’s IT department has monitored developments this morning and, following the deployment of security updates, we are confident it’s now safe to restore connectivity.

Thankfully the Trust has not been affected by the cyber attack and the actions we took on Friday were just precautionary. Service user care was not compromised and staff continued to provide great care as normal.

I’d like to thank all the staff that worked tirelessly throughout this incident, including over the weekend, to keep us up and running. This includes our IT team who pulled out all the stops to make sure we were safe and secure.

However, we must remain really vigilant against cyber security threats and ensure we follow good practice at all times. If you think you’ve received a ransomware email, our advice is:

  • Do not reply to the sender, click any links or open any attachments within the email, or forward it to anyone
  • Close your computer down in the normal way
  • Contact our IT helpdesk immediately on 0113 85 52400

This week is, ironically, business continuity week with the theme of cyber security. The NHS is currently facing the second highest number of cyber security related incidents on record. It was reported at the end of 2016 that almost 30 NHS trusts may have been targeted by ransomware attacks, and following recent events, security has never been more critical.

Sara Munro
Chief Executive