GMIT lecturer says ransomware attack was insidious and frightening Published: Thursday, 20 May 2021 11:35 A GMIT lecturer says the ransomware attack on the HSE and the Department of Health was 'insidious' and 'frightening'. Dr Seamus Dowling, the Programme Chair for Cyber Security at GMIT’s Mayo Campus says the cyber attack was worked on for quite a long time, making the breach all the more concerning. The Cyber Security Lecturer and his students track cyber threat groups to determine their tactics, techniques and procedures, studying how they find vulnerabilities and hack into IT systems. He believes once this group got into the health service they would have been able to move laterally and access personal data, including financial information.