1st LD: Britain's NHS hospitals reportedly hit by cyber attack

Britain's National Health Service (NHS) has been reportedly hit by a cyber attack on Friday, affecting hospitals across the country and causing chaos for patients, British media reported.

IT systems appear to have broken and emergency patients are having to be diverted to other areas, according to doctors cited by the Independent.

The Mirror reported that the so-called "ransomware" computer attack is demanding 300 U.S. dollars in electronic currency to free files from encryption.

NHS England has confirmed that the health service has been targeted by a "large scale cyber attack, with hackers demanding a ransom."

Hospitals affected are believed to have lost the use of phonelines and computers, with some diverting all but emergency patients elsewhere.

No hospitals in London are yet confirmed to have been targeted in the attack but NHS England said they are still compiling a list of which hospitals have been hit.

Meanwhile, East and North Hertfordshire NHS confirmed in a press statement: "Today, the Trust has experienced a major IT problem, believed to be caused by a cyber attack.

"Immediately on discovering of the problem, the Trust acted to protect its IT systems by shutting them down; The Trust is postponing all non-urgent activity for today."

The attack came on the same day as health care professionals mark International Nurses Day. Endit