A hospital website has been taken offline after its security was “compromised” in a possible hack.
The website for the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow was hit on Friday (September 9) and remains inaccessible during “essential maintenance”.
It is not yet clear how the security was compromised, but a spokeswoman for the NHS trust said no patient data was held on the website, so there have been no breaches of confidential information.
The spokeswoman said: “The trust is currently working with the company that develops and hosts the website to ensure this cannot happen again, while this investigation continues the site will remain offline.”
The website is hosted externally, meaning the hospital’s internal IT systems were not affected.
The issue has been reported to the Department of Health and it has been reviewed internally.
People are advised to visit NHS Choices at www.nhs.uk for general queries or for more information about the hospital.
For hospital queries, phone 01279 444 455 or for appointments phone 01279 827 391.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here