The Irish Government has not paid any ransom to hackers involved in the ransomware attack on the health system, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said.
A decryption key was made available on Thursday evening almost one week after the IT system was attacked and is being tested to ensure its validity.
Speaking on RTE Radio 1, Mr Donnelly said: “Categorically, no ransom has been paid by this Government directly, indirectly, through any third party or in any other way. Nor will any such ransom be paid.”
We will make every effort to protect patients and their data as much as possible.
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) May 20, 2021
The disgraceful cyber attack this week is an attack on the Irish state and all of us who value our health system so highly. https://t.co/cxMCJyPj0j
The minister told the station’s Morning Ireland programme it was “unclear” why the decryption key was being made available and that it “came as a surprise”.
He added that there could be “any number of reasons” behind the move, and it would not be useful for him to speculate.
PA Media