Terry Baldwin tells us:

The encryption virus attack on the NHS is commonly used against small businesses and individuals.

As soon as this attack began, all hospitals and surgeries should have been told to shut down their computer systems to stop it spreading. Apparently this did not happen and many surgeries were told it was safe to restart their computers around 3.30 this afternoon resulting in the further spread of the virus.

This kind of attack usually causes some inconvenience or financial loss its victims but in this case it may well cause loss of life.