Micheal Martin has said the Government will not negotiate with an international criminal gang that have brought the HSE to its knees with its hacking of their systems.
He said: “I think we’re very clear we’re not going to be paying any ransom or engaging in any of that sort of stuff, so we’re very clear on that.”
More than 80,000 HSE computers were shut down with immediate effect when news of the hack emerged yesterday morning.
The Taoiseach also revealed that it could take days for the systems to recover from the massive hack of of the HSE’s system.
The Irish Mirror understands that the significant ransom demand has been requested to be paid in the cybercurrency, Bitcoin.
The Government and the HSE are refusing to disclose how much the ransom demand is.
The Mirror also understands that the attack has not been limited to Ireland and that other European countries have been targeted too.
There is a public holiday in Spain this weekend and there are fears there that the full extent of the potential breaches there will not be realised until next Tuesday.
The Taoiseach said: “I have been briefed on this from the Secretary (General) in my own department and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), that team has been working with the HSE from the very beginning on this.
“We have the people in place, we have the capacity, the systems in place to deal with this and we’re dealing with it methodically from the outset.
“I’d like to pay tribute to the HSE for the early action it’s taken, to Paul Reid, the chief executive officer and the impact… it’s something that has to be dealt with in a methodical way.
“We know the system has been shut down, there is an assessment underway, identification of the issues and other processes.
“It will take some days to assess the impact and that is the proper way to do this.
“We will make those assessments over time.
“What’s important is that people cooperate with the HSE - as I know they will - emergency services are open, the vaccination programme continues uninterrupted and in fact the Aviva, 52,000 peopl have been vaccinated in the Aviva since the beginning, so that’s an illustration what one vaccination centre can achieve.
“At this stage we’re dealing with this in accordance with the advices we’ve received from cybersecurity experts and I think we’re very clear we’re not going to be paying any ransom or engaging in any of that sort of stuff, so we’re very clear on that.
“So further work continues by the experts.
The Taoiseach revealed that no systems have been compromised yet.
“I think there will be briefings here from the cyber security centre and those involved, and from the HSE, I’m not going to go into the technical side of this, other than to say the systems are in place.
“People with the know-how are on this case, on behalf of the State, and on behalf of the HSE and are dealing with this in a very comprehensive and methodical way and in accordance with the best advice on matters such as this.
“This happens and it has happened other systems across Europe and we are going to deal with it in an efficient and in a methodical way.”
