Cybersecurity breach causes lab test delays says Gauteng health department

pTraders mull chance of a ceasefire deal in Gaza with negotiations due to resume later in the dayppWednesday July 10 2024ppANC says the rule that allowed his election needs to be changedppOn Thursday and Friday the government will hold the first biannual planning meeting of new executiveppThe terms of the rights offer will be announced on July 11ppBusiness Day TV speaks to CEO of Deal Leaders Andrew BahlmannppFeast or famine procurement results in SA manufacturers losing tenders to big international suppliersppThe Fed is now also concerned about risks to the job market if rates remain too high for too longppSpringbok coach Rassie Erasmus named the most experienced starting team in Springbok history when he retained the same 23 players for the second Test against Ireland in Durban on SaturdayppNine limited anniversary electric supercars will commemorate the Croatian companys birthdayppThere are delays in processing laboratory tests across public health facilities in Gauteng due to a recent security breach experienced by the National Health Laboratory Services NHLSppThe breach affected the information technology systems and disrupted laboratory services the Gauteng Department of Health saidppTo mitigate the impact the department said critical tests such as blood tests for sodium potassium glucose and other vital chemicals as well as urgent tests for infections and other serious conditions are being prioritisedppOur facilities have point of care equipment such as istat machines that can provide healthcare professionals with diagnostic information key for patient care it saidppWe are working closely with the NHLS to resolve this issue as quickly as possibleppThe NHLS said last week A ransomware virus was used to target selected points in the NHLS IT systems rendering them inaccessible and blocking communication from the laboratory information system and other databases to and from usersppSections of our system have been deleted including in our backup server and this will require rebuilding the affected partsppThe NHLS said it swiftly activated its incident response team which included internal experts and external cybersecurity professionalsppThe cyberattacks did continue but we have been able to block them because of the additional layer of security that was built to prevent further damage We also have had to shut down systems to enable us to repair the damageppWhile no patient data was affected the organisations systems would remain inaccessible internally and externally including to and from healthcare facilities until the integrity of the environment is secured and repaired it saidppThe NHLS said its laboratories were operatingppUnder normal circumstances the laboratory reports are automatically generated and sent to clinicians or made available on web view but the incident has disabled that functionality However all urgent results are communicated telephonically to requesting cliniciansppTimesLIVEppWould you like to comment on this article Sign up its quick and free or sign in nowppPlease read our Comment Policy before commentingpp Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January pp Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January pp 2024 Arena Holdings All rights reservedppUse of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms Conditions and Privacy Policyp