A National Cyberattack Affecting Radiation Therapy: The Irish Experience

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Informatics
• Cybersecurity

Background:

• A significant cyberattack on May 14, 2021, impacted the Health Service Executive in Ireland.
• This led to the shutdown of IT systems, severely disrupting national oncology services, including radiation therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the cyberattack's effects on the national radiation therapy service.
• To detail the strategy implemented to resume patient treatment promptly.

Main Methods:

• Formation of a national radiation therapy cyberattack response team.
• Prioritization of critical care patients and establishment of communication channels.
• Collaboration with the private sector for patient treatment and development of local IT solutions.

Main Results:

• Radiation therapy was interrupted for 513 patients nationally.
• All 5 public radiation therapy centers successfully reestablished services by May 30, 2021.
• A national plan for patient prioritization and treatment gap compensation was implemented.

Conclusions:

• The cyberattack highlighted vulnerabilities in healthcare IT infrastructure.
• Effective national coordination and local adaptation were crucial for service restoration.
• While services resumed, a long-term recovery and cybersecurity enhancement are necessary.