Following the WannaCry cyber attack extra money has been pledged to improve the cyber security of UK hospitals responsible for treating patients from major incidents including terrorist attacks. £21 million has been promised by the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to try to combat future cyber hacks and avoid further disruption in key medical centres.
The WannaCry attack occurred in May and is one of the highest-profile cyber attacks. It infected IT systems within the National Health Service (NHS) across the UK with ransomware. There is the very real possibility that a repeat attack on a similar level could cost lives unless the NHS improves security. In the weeks following the WannaCry attack there were calls for investment to be made to prevent another “avoidable” attack
It now appears that those calls have been heeded, lessons learned and now investments are being made to avoid a repeat. WannaCry exploited a weakness in the outdated Windows XP operating system still used by many within the NHS.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, the Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:
“The cyber-attack was a wake-up call to many of us working in the health service about the fragility of the IT systems we are using, not just to keep our patients’ data safe, but to keep our surgeries functioning.”
Full details on this story can be found in the article below, from which the above quote was taken:
Hospitals to receive £21m to increase cybersecurity at major trauma centres
Hospitals responsible for treating patients from major incidents including terrorist attacks will receive £21m to beef up their cybersecurity in the wake of the WannaCry assault on NHS IT systems. Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has pledged the extra money to try to stop future malware attacks disrupting operations and appointments in key medical centres.
How DCI Cyber Essentials can help
The first step to keeping your organisation safe from cyber attack is to be certified with DCI Cyber Essentials. Certification to the Government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme is a mandatory requirement for organisations wishing to win business with the MOD, and can help your organisation prepare and defend itself against malicious cyber attacks, regardless of the sector you operate in.
