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London Hospitals Almost Back Online After Worm Infection

Three London hospitals whose computer systems were infected with a relatively old worm are now almost back online

By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service (London Bureau)

December 02, 2008 — CSO —

Three London hospitals whose computer systems were infected with a relatively old worm are now almost back online.

About 5,000 PCs at St. Bartholomew's, the Royal London Hospital and The London Chest Hospital were hit in mid-November by an infection of Mytob, a worm that e-mails itself to other PCs and can be used to put other malicious software on a machine.

About 97% of those PCs are now clear of Mytob, according to a statement issued Friday. The remaining PCs, which are located in nonclinical areas, should soon come back online.

As a precaution, all of the PCs were shut down after the infection was discovered. The infection affected computers used to admit patients, and the hospitals diverted emergency patients to other facilities for a short time.

The PCs did have McAfee antivirus software installed. McAfee Inc., which received a sample of the Mytob strain infecting the hospitals' PCs, said its up-to-date products do have the have the right signature to detect the worm.

It remains unclear how the PCs were infected. Mytob was discovered in early 2005, and most security products can detect it. A spokesman for the hospitals said on Monday that an investigation is ongoing.

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