Early on Friday, the HSE announced it had temporarily shut down its IT system after a "significant ransomware attack".
The hackers responsible for the HSE cyber-attack have provided a decryption tool to Irish authorities which will allow them to repair their IT systems faster than expected.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that the decryption key to unlock the data was made available, however, "no ransom was paid by the Irish state".
In a statement on Thursday evening, the Government said that the decryption tool "may support the ongoing work to repair the impact of the cyberattack".
“The Government is aware that a decryption tool has been made available online which may support the ongoing work to repair the impact of the cyberattack on the HSE’s IT systems which has caused huge disruption to our health services,” the statement said.
“A detailed technical process to ensure the integrity of this decryption tool is being carried out by the NCSC [National Cyber Security Centre] and private contractors. This is to ensure that this tool would support the restoration of our systems... rather than cause further harm.”
The Government added that "every effort" is being made to restore patient information and IT infrastructure.
“Every effort is being made to restore important aspects of the HSE’s IT infrastructure as soon as possible and the focus remains very firmly on restoring medical services for the many thousands of patients in need of them,” the statement added.
“It is to be emphasised that the Government has not paid a ransom and will not pay a ransom in respect of this crime. This has been the firm position of the Government from the outset and it will continue to maintain that position.”
Early on Friday, the HSE announced it had temporarily shut down its IT system after it was targeted in a "significant ransomware attack".
Described as possibly the most significant cybercrime attack on the Irish state by Minister of State for eGovernment Ossian Smyth, it has caused major disruptions to health services across the country.
A further attempted cyber attack was carried out on the
Department of Health after the ransomware attack on the Health Service Executive (HSE) last week.
The Department has shut down its systems and is working to safely restore its data amid the attack and has been "working to respond" to the incident since Thursday.
A digital note from the cybercrime group, Wizard Spider who is believed to be responsible has been left on the Department's IT systems.
The note is believed to be similar to the one discovered amid the HSE hack earlier this week.
The Department of Health confirmed that The National Cyber Security Centre, along with the Gardaí and the Defence Forces, is currently investigating the attacks.
