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In a shocking development, the NHS has revealed that it was the victim of a major cyber attack targeting Synnovis.
Synnovis, formerly Viapath, is a London-based provider of pathology services. It is a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation.
The attack, which occurred on June 22nd, has potentially compromised the sensitive health data of millions of NHS patients across England.
According to official statements from NHS England and NHS Digital, the cybercriminals behind the attack were able to access Synnovis’ systems.
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Synnovis Response
“Synnovis, a pathology services partnership between two London hospital Trusts and SYNLAB, recently fell victim to a cyberattack. Last week, a group claimed responsibility for the attack and published data online.” Snnaovis said via press release statement.
There has been no evidence to suggest that the Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) databases, which are critical for supporting laboratory operations and holding patient test requests and results, have been compromised or posted online.
“However, a partial and fragmented form of the administrative working drive has been posted. This drive contains some fragments of patient-identifiable data. Our top priority is addressing this issue and understanding the extent of the breach, Synnovis Said.
The NHS uses these systems to securely transfer patient data between different parts of the health service, which has raised serious concerns about the safety and privacy of confidential patient information.
NHS officials are scrambling to assess the full extent of the breach and determine exactly what data may have been exposed.
They have assured the public that emergency services and urgent care remain fully operational, but some non-urgent appointments and services may need to be rescheduled as they work to restore impacted systems securely.
Synnovis has taken its affected systems offline as a precautionary measure while they investigate the incident in partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre and NHS.
However, many question how such a vital part of the NHS digital infrastructure could be left vulnerable to attack.
The NHS is now facing difficult questions about its cyber security measures’ robustness and preparedness for increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Patients are being urged to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious communications claiming to be from the NHS.
As more details emerge about the scale and impact of this unprecedented attack on England’s health service, public trust in the NHS’ ability to keep personal data safe hangs in the balance.
This developing story has sent shockwaves through the healthcare sector and beyond.
Investigations are complex and may take weeks to identify impacted individuals. Local health systems collaborate to manage the patient impact, ensuring urgent blood samples are processed, and laboratories can access historical records. NHS officials said patients should attend appointments and seek urgent care as usual unless advised otherwise.
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