The founding chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre has warned parts of the NHS’s IT system is “out of date” and at risk of further cyber attacks.
More than 6,000 appointments and procedures were postponed at major London hospitals because of a cyber attack in June.
Professor Ciaran Martin said he was “horrified, but not completely surprised” by the ransomware attack.
He told the BBC: “Ransomware attacks on healthcare are a major global problem.
“In parts of the NHS estate, it’s quite clear that some of the IT is out of date.”
Professor Martin, who now works at the University of Oxford, said outdated IT systems, identifying vulnerable points and basic security practices were critical issues facing the NHS.
NHS England confirmed data stolen in the June 3 ransomware attack on pathology services provider Synnovis had been published online.
According to the BBC, Russian cyber gang Qilin shared almost 400GB of data, including patient names, dates of birth, NHS numbers and descriptions of blood tests, on their…
