It's been confirmed that a HSE funded Healthcare Centre in Wexford has been affected by the global cyber attack.

The tech expert who stopped the attack in its tracks has identified Ireland as one of the affected countries.

Over 100 nations worldwide are working to combat the WANNACRY virus.

In Ireland, the Department of Communications has confirmed a number of Irish locations were targeted but only the Wexford incident was active and this has now been addressed.

The National Cyber Security Centre said they are continuing to actively monitor the situation, and to engage with entities across Government and the private sector in terms of managing the response to this malware.

Active incident 

In a statement the Department of Communications said that "The situation is still evolving, but international contacts are ongoing and more clarity is becoming available on an hourly basis as to how this malware propagates and how it can be dealt with."

They said that "while a number of systems have been targeted, it appears at this point that only one active incident has arisen in Ireland.

"It appears that a small Centre funded by the HSE in Wexford has been affected by the malware behind the present cyber attack," they added that "They are not actually connected to the HSE network & do not pose a broader risk."

Thankfully the threat was isolated and was prevented from spreading.

They said the centre was removed from the incoming email list, and the affected hardware was removed from the system.

They also said that the remaining equipment has also been patched. Finally, they said that The National Cyber Security Centre is also involved, providing assistance and support as required. 

HSE's role 

Meanwhile, The HSE has taken a series of actions to reduce the risk of disruption to services, including removing access for incoming communications on the afternoon of the 13th as a way of limiting the exposure to the network.

The HSE said "Efforts will continue over the weekend and into next week to ensure that services across the public sector remain unaffected and that the private sector receives any support or information required."

Communications Minister Denis Naughten said the global cyber attack was unprecedented. He said "What's happening at the moment this is right across the globe - we haven't seen anything of this scale before."

Mr Naughten also warned that the situation could still escalate.