Ireland shuts down health IT system after ransomware attack

A man types on a computer keyboard in this illustration picture taken February 28, 2013. /Reuters

Ireland's health authority said on Friday it had shut down its computer systems after experiencing a "significant ransomware attack."

"We have taken the precaution of shutting down all our IT systems in order to protect them from this attack and to allow us (to) fully assess the situation with our own security partners," the Health Service Executive said on Twitter.

"We apologize for inconvenience caused to patients and to the public and will give further information as it becomes available," it said.

Vaccinations and emergency ambulance services are not affected, it added.

The incident came a week after another ransomware attack forced the shutdown of the top U.S. fuel pipeline network,

sparking fear of gasoline shortage

.

On Wednesday, the pipeline operator has announced its resume following the attack.

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(With input from AFP)