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On August 5, 2022, the NHS confirmed it had been targeted by hackers and that local health boards were to feel “significant and far-reaching effects”.

The ransomware attack is still reportedly ongoing, as it targets multiple systems within the NHS.

Ransomware is a form of malware (malicious software) designed to deny a user or organisation access to files on their computer.

By encrypting these files and demanding money for the decryption key, cyberattackers place organisations in a position where paying the ransom is the easiest way to regain access to their files.

The ‘outage’ affecting the whole of the United Kingdom, is currently being dealt with by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Caerphilly Observer asked the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) how it was dealing with the attack.

A spokesperson said: “The systems outage has affected the GP out of hours service across all health board areas in Wales and across the UK.

“An all-Wales interim software solution has been developed to enable us to manage calls to the service and direct them appropriately until a permanent system is restored.

“Due to the efforts of our staff to implement the temporary solution, the service has been maintained although some patients may have experienced longer call waits than usual.

“We would like to thank our patients for their understanding at this time.”