Ireland's health service shuts its computer systems due to major ransomware attack

Ireland's health service said Friday it had shut down its computer systems after experiencing a "significant ransomware attack," a week after the largest U.S. fuel pipeline network was also targeted.

The Irish attack was blamed on international criminals and was said to be targeting healthcare records, but officials said patient safety wasn't at risk. "We have taken the precaution of shutting down all our IT systems in order to protect them from this attack and to allow us (to) fully assess the situation with our own security partners," the Health Service Executive (HSE) said.