D I G I T A L D I A G N O S T I C S
The NHS always faces immense strain in the run-up to winter , but this year looks to be particularly challenging . The number of people on the waiting list for hospital treatment grew by more than 100,000 to 6.73 million in June 2022 , with 4,000 waiting for two years and a shocking 355,774 waiting over one year . What ’ s more , with energy bills rising , alongside concerns about the cost-of-living crisis , predictions state that the health service will be under even more pressure this year as people may be reluctant to properly heat their homes . The NHS has also been tasked with conducting another vaccine rollout , as a new jab jointly targeting the original COVID-19 strain and Omicron has now been approved . Given these multiple challenges , it is vital that the health service does all it can to provide the best service possible during this challenging period .
It ' s therefore worrying that the NHS 111 service was impacted by a cyberattack that targeted the third-party software it uses to refer patients for care , dispatch ambulances , book out-of-hours appointments and distribute emergency prescriptions . While the service assured patients that the disruption was minimal , it has since been communicated that it will likely take a month for its operations to begin running at full capacity again . Considering the wake-up call that the WannaCry ransomware attack gave the healthcare service in 2017 , it ’ s shocking that an attack of this nature was able to penetrate its defences .
The healthcare opportunity
A recent report from the Department for Digital , Culture , Media & Sport ( DCMS ) found that 31 % of businesses experience a data breach or cyberattack at least once a week . This is a shocking statistic and one that healthcare companies in particular need to be wary of as there are a number of reasons why they are a particular target for cybercriminals .
The cyberattack that affected the NHS 111 service highlighted the importance of incorporating resilience into an organisation ’ s security approach . Dominic Trott , UK Head of Strategy at Orange Cyberdefense , analyses this attack and offers advice on cybersecurity for healthcare enterprises .
The first is because of the damage that a successful cyberattack can have on a healthcare organisation , potentially holding vast quantities of private or sensitive patient data . The impact can become devastating – even potentially fatal – if critical activities are interrupted , let alone prevented , by a software outage . These implications may encourage healthcare organisations to consider coughing up larger ransom demands to decrypt their data , stop it from being released on the Dark Web or prevent downtime that may stop them from continuing business as usual . While some cybergangs have communicated that they do not target healthcare companies because of the critical nature of their work , this certainly doesn ’ t go for all of them .
MINIMISING THE THIRD-PARTY CYBERTHREAT IN HEALTHCARE
www . intelligenthealth . tech 63