A security threat was inadvertently introduced to the NHS Choices website on Sunday thanks to a site administrator’s typing error.
A link in the site’s code went to a domain whose name was spelt wrong – just one letter different to the correct service – an NHS spokesperson told TechWeekEurope. On Sunday, a person in the Czech Republic appeared to have bought that domain, which was later seen serving up advertising and malware.
“That’s when the problems started to occur,” the spokesperson said. “We can’t say whether [that person] noticed the error or if it was pure happenstance.”
Such malicious sites are often set up by digital crooks, who can make money from ad clicks and whose malware can pilfer things like banking logins. It’s believed the coding error led to 800 links on the NHS Choices website pointing to bad domains.
The problem was uncovered by Reddit user Muzzers, who noted that the error lay in linking googleaspis.com rather than the correct googleapis.com.
Some had suggested the site was hacked, but the NHS sought to allay such fears on Monday.
“An internal coding error has caused an incorrect re-direct on some pages on NHS Choices since Sunday evening,” the NHS explained in an emailed statement.
“Routine security checks alerted us to this problem on Monday morning at which point we identified the problem and corrected the code.
“We are now ‘flushing through’ this correction to ensure that the code on all affected pages is amended and expect this to be completed this afternoon.
“NHS Choices is treating this issue with urgency and once resolved we plan to undertake a thorough and detailed analysis to ensure that a full code review is undertaken and steps put in place to ensure no reoccurrence.”
What do you know about Internet security? Find out with our quiz!
Suspended prison sentence for Craig Wright for “flagrant breach” of court order, after his false…
Cash-strapped south American country agrees to sell or discontinue its national Bitcoin wallet after signing…
Google's change will allow advertisers to track customers' digital “fingerprints”, but UK data protection watchdog…
Welcome to Silicon In Focus Podcast: Tech in 2025! Join Steven Webb, UK Chief Technology…
European Commission publishes preliminary instructions to Apple on how to open up iOS to rivals,…
San Francisco jury finds Nima Momeni guilty of second-degree murder of Cash App founder Bob…