Concern about NHS cyber security has increased following the WannaCry attack and healthcare
management professionals expect it to come under further attack from “organised hacktivists”,
according to a new survey of those registered to attend this year’s UK Health Show.
The survey of almost 600 registrants to the show, which is held at Olympia London on 27
September, suggests that leading managers and professionals are very worried about similar cyber
attacks in the future.
Twice as many say agree (40%) than disagree (20%) with the statements that “if a similar cyber-
attack to the WannaCry ransomware attack happened today, the NHS would be better able to deal
with it”. However, there is no room for complacency.
The WannaCry attack has been called “the biggest ransomware offensive in history.” More than
300,000 computers were infected in as many as 145 countries when it was unleashed. In the UK,
the NHS was particularly badly hit, with around 50 Trusts affected by the virus, which locked staff
out of computers and demanded a ransom in Bitcoin. Some Trusts not only shut down email and IT
systems, but were forced to close A&E and outpatient departments.
It is no surprise then that cyber security is a top concern for those tasked with running and
improving the NHS. Nine in ten (89%) registrants to the UK Health Show say they are concerned
about the cyber security threats facing the NHS, including as many as a third (34%) who describe
themselves as “very concerned”.
In addition, virtually all respondents to the survey believe the NHS will face increased attacks over
the next five years, with more than two in five (42%) expecting “a lot more” attacks to face Britain’s
health system in the future.
“Organised hacktivists, such as anonymous” are most likely to be perceived as the main source of
potential attacks against the NHS overall (55% of respondents identify this source), rather than
“individual hackers” (33%). Few perceive that foreign governments (4%) or the private sector (2%)
will be the source of cyber attacks.
Alexander Rushton, the UK Health Show Event Director, said: “We want to help all NHS trusts and
those working with the NHS to be prepared and to be resilient in the face of the inevitable cyber
security threats the sector will continue to face. This is why technology and cyber security are at the
heart of this year’s UK Health Show.
“Managers and professionals are coming to the UK Health Show to better understand how the NHS
is being protected nationally, learn about what they need to do in their organisation and meet with
colleagues and suppliers that can help them put in the right systems and solutions.”
The top four areas of weakness for the NHS in terms of cyber security are identified as:
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71% inadequate IT architecture / systems
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51% inadequate training for staff on security protocols
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51% compromised users (people who have been hacked, but don’t know about it)
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44% not enough skilled staff to protect IT data or systems
Healthcare Efficiency through Technology (HETT) and Cyber Security in Healthcare are two of the
four main themes of the UK Health Show. Cyber Security in Healthcare will include presentations on
NHS Digital’s CareCERT service, and how it is helping both IT teams and NHS staff improve digital
security, while Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will share its experience of
addressing cyber security issues.
A panel including Dan Taylor, head of security at NHS Digital, Sarah Pickup, deputy chief executive
at the Local Government Association, and DCI Gary Miles from SC07 Organised Crime Command
at the Metropolitan Policy, will debate the likely cyber threats to hit health and care services in 2018,
and how to tackle them.
Alexander Rushton said: “Our visitors are sure that digital technological transformation is important
to making the NHS more efficient and they agree that the use of digital technology will increase over
the next few years. We want those attending our show to learn about the future of digital
technology, what it can mean for improving healthcare outcomes and how NHS organisations can
use them to improve efficiency while retaining patient safety.”
The UK Health Show expects to bring together over 4,000 NHS and healthcare leaders and senior
professionals in the largest one-day healthcare conference and exhibition in the UK. The event will
deliver over 50 hours of conference and seminar content from 140+ speakers across 15 themed
theatres and give attendees the opportunity to meet with at least 150 suppliers and partners to the NHS on the exhibition show floor.
