Lawyers 'licking their lips' at thought of suing State over HSE cyber attack - Donnelly

Legal firms are “licking their lips” at the thoughts of suing the State over the HSE cyber attack, according to the Health Minister. On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Stephen Donnelly said it is ‘very distasteful’ that lawyers are eyeing up legal claims while the State is under attack from hackers. He said it is too early to say how exposed the State is to legal claims should large amounts of personal medical data be leaked online. “I think it has been a little distasteful,” he said. “I have seen some legal firms already advertising, potentially licking their lips, at the thoughts of being able to sue the State. “We saw the same with the vaccine programme. We had online materials being published by law firms talking about future cases that patients would be able to take against the State. “I find it very distasteful I have to say. We have been attacked as a nation. Our patients in the HSE have been attacked and we are doing everything we can to respond.” It emerged yesterday that some medical information stolen during the attack has already been shared online. The 27 files linked to 12 patients were offered on the Darkweb as ‘samples’ to prove the hackers had access to private patient information.