Health Minister John Haggie is unable to say whether the problems plaguing the health care system are related to a ransomware attack.

Dave Morgan of Morgan Privacy Consulting says such attacks have become big business with an average payout of $200,000 but sometimes the cost can be in the tens of millions. Meeting the ransom demand will usually end the issue.

He says they tend to release your data or end the problems they have created in your network, he says, however it is also possible to retrieve the data without paying. It all depends on the quality of the attack.

Morgan says it’s difficult at this juncture to speculate on whether government was adequately prepared for such an attack.

He encourages everyone to back up their data and do it in such a way that they don’t have two copies in the same location. That way if some data becomes corrupted by a ransomware attack. Morgan also notes that people will put all kinds of security in place for their computer or laptop at home but not do it for their cell phone which is connected to their home system.