Email, internet access still not restored in regional hospitals after ransomware attack

A ransomware attack left a Victorian regional hospital’s computer network compromised, and five weeks later, its staff are still without access to the internet or email systems.

Regional hospital staff remain cut off from the internet and internal systems, more than five weeks after a cyber attack that compromised their computer networks.

An email from a Latrobe Regional Hospital staff member, sent via their personal account earlier this week, confirms they still have no access to external email, the internet and “a large number” of internal systems.

The September 30 cyber attack struck health services across Gippsland and southwest Victoria after a phishing email was sent to an employee.

Geelong's University Hospital was also affected by the cyber attack. Picture: Alan Barber

It enabled a virus to spread into computer networks and gave cyber criminals unauthorised access.

Police have been called in to investigate the attack but the state government maintains no patient data was stolen.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said it was clear the attack was continuing to “plague regional hospitals”.

She accused the government of ignoring warnings from the Auditor-General about cyber security procedures within hospitals.

“Daniel Andrews has arrogantly refused to provide the funding hospitals urgently need to fix the current mess and defend themselves from future attacks,” Ms Crozier said.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos told parliament last week that the government had invested $46 million over five years to “to strengthen health service IT capability and replace aged and at-risk technology in our health service”.

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“We have had issues, as I have explained to the house before, in Barwon and Gippsland that have meant that email and internet have continued to be affected,” she said.

“Critical clinical care was addressed very quickly, patient care has not been impacted and surgery is back to normal.”

Barwon Health staff have also been waiting to have access to email and other systems restored.

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