Several UK hospitals have been the target of a large-scale cyber attack this Friday afternoon which has prevented professionals from accessing their computers and led to the diversion of many emergency patients, as confirmed by the National Health Service (NHS, for its English acronym).

Several UK hospitals have been the target of a large-scale cyber attack this Friday afternoon which has prevented professionals from accessing their computers and led to the diversion of many emergency patients, as confirmed by the National Health Service (NHS, for its English acronym).

The attacks simultaneously affected computers and phones in at least 16 hospitals and health centers in London, Nottingham, Herefordshire, Blackburn and Cumbria, according to the NHS. This is a ransomware attack, similar to the one that hit the corporate headquarters of Telefónica and another Spanish company this morning. It is not known whether the two attacks are linked. On the screen of a computer infected by a computer virus, of currently unknown origin, a message appears demanding a ransom (300 dollars to a bitcoin account, according to screenshots published in the press and social networks) in return for accessing the system.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has assured tonight that “it was not an attack specifically directed against the NHS but an international attack that has affected several countries and organizations,” Reuters reported. May has emphasized that there is “no indication that patient information has been compromised.”

The NHS has confirmed they are working to resolve the issue. Similarly, via the NHS Digital website, the NHS has confirmed the attack with the “Wanna Decryptor variant of the malware.”

British security forces are treating the attack as a criminal act, according to Guard, and they don’t think of it as a cyber attack from a foreign power. They take it seriously but without implications for national security.

The attacks have forced computers in hospitals to be shut down and doctors to use pencil and paper, according to testimony compiled by the BBC. Some hospitals have to cancel appointments and ask patients not to leave except in really urgent cases.

Blackpool health authorities reported on Twitter of a “computer issue affecting multiple systems in the medical office.” “Please, avoid calling your medical center unless absolutely necessary,” they asked citizens, revealing the national phone number for non-urgent medical cases.

Those in charge of health services in Derbyshire indicated that their computer systems had been “temporarily shut down”. According to local media, health system workers have received messages on their computers asking for a certain amount of money to be able to recover their files.