THE PSNI are preparing for the possibility of a cyber attack amid a UK warning of fresh computer malware virus blitz on the UK on Monday.

It comes after NHS computer networks in England and Wales were hit by a large scale ransomware assault on Friday.

Detectives say there is currently no evidence to suggest systems here have been targeted in Northern Ireland.

But they been liaising with national government, National Crime Agency and cyber security experts to “put in place mechanisms to mitigate the risk to systems in NI”.

DCI Douglas Grant, Head of PSNI Cyber Crime Centre said: “We remain conscious that we must act to ensure the integrity of cyber networks and take appropriate action to reduce the threat posed by cyber criminals.

“We continue to actively participate in, and support, the national co-ordinated response to this incident and we would encourage all businesses and public services to take steps to protect their systems and reduce their vulnerability.”

He continued: “Do not open emails from unknown sources or containing suspicious links or attachments.

“Ensure that all computers on your network are fully updated with the latest ‘patches’.

“A ‘patch’ is a piece of software designed to update a computer program or its supporting data, to fix or improve it.

“This includes fixing security vulnerabilities.

“We would also recommend that businesses and industries join the local Cyber Information Sharing Partnership (CISP) so they can receive the most up to date threat and mitigation information to help protect their cyber security.”