Cyber Attack - The Day the NHS Stopped

A few weeks ago, the National Health Service was hit by a widespread and devastating cyber attack - Horizon tells the inside story of one of the most challenging days in the history of the NHS. On the morning of 12 May the attack started. Appointment systems, pathology labs, x-rays and even CT scanners were infected - putting not just data but patients lives at risk, and on every screen a simple - some may even say polite - message appeared. 'Ooops, your files have been encrypted!' But what followed was far from civilised. It was very clear that all the data on an infected machine was now scrambled and only the hackers could unscramble it. For a price - and with an extra twist - after a few days the ransom money doubled, and if nothing was paid within a week, the hackers threatened to destroy all the data - forever

Other episodes for this season

Clean Eating: The Dirty Truth
Episode 1 - Clean Eating: The Dirty T...
Hair Care Secrets
Episode 2 - Hair Care Secrets
ADHD and Me with Rory Bremner
Episode 3 - ADHD and Me with Rory Bre...
Why Did I Go Mad?
Episode 4 - Why Did I Go Mad?
Strange Signals from Outer Space!
Episode 5 - Strange Signals from Oute...
Space Volcanoes
Episode 6 - Space Volcanoes
Antarctica - Ice Station Rescue
Episode 7 - Antarctica - Ice Station...
Cyber Attack - The Day the NHS Stopped
Episode 8 - Cyber Attack - The Day the NHS Stopped
10 Things You Need to Know About the Future
Episode 9 - 10 Things You Need to Kno...
Dawn of the Driverless Car
Episode 10 - Dawn of the Driverless Ca...
Dippy and the Whale
Episode 11 - Dippy and the Whale
What Makes a Psychopath?
Episode 12 - What Makes a Psychopath?
Mars - A Traveller's Guide
Episode 13 - Mars - A Traveller's Guid...
Goodbye Cassini - Hello Saturn
Episode 14 - Goodbye Cassini - Hello S...
Being Transgender
Episode 15 - Being Transgender