Probe under way at National Health Laboratory Services after breach of its IT systems

JOHANNESBURG - An investigation is under way at the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) following a breach of its IT systems.

Over the weekend, hackers used a ransomware virus to target selected points in the systems rendering them inaccessible.

Ransomware is malware designed to deny a user or organisation access to files on their computer. 

As a result, users were unable to receive communication from the lab’s information system and other databases.

The NHLS is South Africa’s diagnostic pathology service for public healthcare facilities comprising a network of 265 laboratories.

“Preliminary data suggests that our enterprise resource planning, environment and laboratory information system and our central data warehouse are not affected---therefore no patient data has been lost or compromised,” said spokesperson Mzi Gcukumana.