20,000 appointments were cancelled as hackers hit NHS

A May 2017 cyber attack on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), which resulted in the cancellation of 20,000 hospital appointments, could have been “easily prevented”, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The WannaCry ransomware attack disrupted computers at 600 GP surgeries, as well as affecting 81 NHS trusts and resulted in five hospitals having to divert ambulances. The Department of Health said that from January hospitals will be subject to unannounced IT security inspections.