NHS Cyber-Attack: The importance of preparation

In light of recent events, Care England wants to take this opportunity to remind all care providers to review their cyber-security protection and contingency planning after the NHS reported a Russian criminal cybercrime group attacked several NHS Trusts within the London region, and has provided the following resources to assist care providers to protect their organisations from cyber attack.

Completing the Data Security and Protection Toolkit is a starting point to becoming more cyber-aware and secure, but providers need to implement further procedures to protect their organisations, their staff, and the people they care for.

As demonstrated by the NHS and previous attacks, cyber-attacks can result in the halting of procedures in healthcare settings, with potentially life-threatening impacts. The same can be said if care-related systems went down due to attack. For example, the loss of access to an eMAR or digital care planning system could result in life-saving medication not being administered, or being unable to access digital care records.

To help care providers, Care England offers a range of cyber support:

1. The Care England website provides helpful information on how care providers can obtain cyber insurance policies.
2. Cyber-security partner Mitigo ran a webinar (review recording here) on how care providers can protect their data from hostile attacks, and produced a helpful article on cyber insurance and information on how to approach a cyber security.
3. The Cyber Centre of Excellence CCoE and Care England have also produced a cost-effective cyber-security package for care providers after a pilot which ran throughout 2023/24, further information is available here.

The cyber-attack on the NHS is another wake-up call that care providers must be proactive in their cyber-protection policies before it is too late, and they become victims themselves. If you need further support to ensure your organisation is resilient in the face of cyber-attacks, please contact: info@careengland.org.uk.