WannaCry ransomware: Hospitals were warned to patch system to protect against cyber-attack – but didn’t

The use of Windows XP by National Health Service (NHS) trusts in England left NHS England vulnerable to the WannaCry ransomware attack in May, despite warnings to patch system vulnerabilities with a Windows update, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The attack affected one third of trusts, or 81 of the 236, and saw thousands of appointments and surgeries cancelled as pen and paper were used instead of computers. The NAO said the attack was relatively unsophisticated and could have been prevented by “basic IT security.”