Cybersecurity risks disrupt services at Latvian healthcare providers

Cybersecurity risks disrupted some healthcare services in Latvia on Thursday, leaving some patients unable to book appointments online and preventing some clinics from accepting health insurance policies, LSM reported.

The website rindapiearsta.lv was unavailable. It had allowed people to find healthcare providers offering state-funded services and check estimated waiting times. The National Health Service created a separate section on its website with the same information.

Parents were unable to use the Children’s Clinical University Hospital website to book or cancel appointments until midday, when the hospital said its website was back online. Hospital representative Ilze Olšteina said the school holiday meant fewer parents were trying to make appointments, so call centre waiting times were not long.

Several healthcare providers also could not process payments using health insurance policies because of global PHP security vulnerabilities. Patients were told to pay for services themselves. Ronalds Rolmanis, information technology director at Eastern Hospital (RAKUS), said its service provider had indicated the problem would be fixed soon. Customers of Stradins Hospital (PSKUS) and the Health Centre Association (VCA) were also affected.

Olšteina said the security checks needed to restore rindapiearsta.lv safely were under way, but the hospital could not give a timeline for its return.