MP3 players aren’t just a security risk, it appears. British tabloid newspaper, The Sun, has claimed that a leading UK hospital lost its servers for two days thanks to staff downloading huge quantities of songs and movies from the internet for use on their MP3 players. Journalists found that servers at the Queen Mother Hospital in Kent were out of action for 48 hours while storage space intended for X-rays and patient records was crammed full of multimedia files.
After the main server crashed the hospital went on a go-slow and X-rays had to be processed using film while patient notes were pulled out of hand-written back-up files. Managers at the hospital – which had to close a ward last month because of a £35 million ($65 million) hole in finances — admitted the computer misuse had been costly.
A spokeswoman said: “Staff have been told that from now on any music or other inappropriate files will be wiped.”
Better still, perhaps they need a way to prevent iPods and MP3 players being connected to PCs on the network?
ADDENDUM: The BBC has subsequently also covered this story, although its take on the events is somewhat different. We’ve linked to the BBC’s version of events in the interests of covering all angles. Regardless of whether servers were down for half a day or 48 hours, the story still shows the potential disruption that can be caused by failing to manage the presence of unwanted personal devices on the corporate network.
