Health service cannot say when «rindapiearsta.lv» will be restored
Latvia's National Health Service cannot predict when the waiting-list website «rindapiearsta.lv» will be back online, as work on a PHP security vulnerability continues. Until then, information is available on the service's website and by phone.
Latvia's National Health Service (NVD), which organises state-funded healthcare services, cannot say precisely when the public will again have access to the website «rindapiearsta.lv». The site shows approximate waiting times for state-funded outpatient care providers. It remains restricted while work continues on fixing a identified security vulnerability.
Together with the site's developers, the service is taking steps to eliminate the PHP vulnerability and restore the service safely. The site will return once all necessary security measures have been introduced and checked.
Alternative sources of information
On the NVD website, in the section «Information during the interruption of rindapiearsta.lv», residents can download the report «Waiting lists for planned treatment in outpatient institutions». If a service is temporarily unavailable at a given medical institution, the table marks it with the letter «N». The number «5» means there is no queue or it is shorter than five days. Medical institutions submit approximate waiting-list data once a month.
Residents can call the NVD Customer Service Centre on the free number 80001234 or write to its e-mail address. The centre is open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 to 17:00 and on Fridays from 8:30 to 15:00. Waiting times can also be checked, and appointments made, at the registry of the medical institution concerned.
What happened with PHP
Two critical vulnerabilities were found in the PHP programming language, which is widely used to build websites. They could allow an attacker to run commands on an affected system without prior authentication. Because of them, access to a number of government websites was restricted on the evening of 21 October, including a temporary suspension of the unified website platform that hosts the sites of 165 state institutions and municipalities.
A further PHP vulnerability was found on 26 October, but it can be exploited only under very specific conditions, so no emergency patches are planned, according to «Cert.lv». Public-sector websites are almost fully restored, while some operate partially.
