The London Health System is currently facing a crisis following a significant cyber attack, during which patient data was stolen and made public. Despite the efforts of NHS staff to coordinate their work and manage the aftermath, challenges are expected to persist until September.
The UK National Health Service (NHS) has confirmed that over 1,600 scheduled surgeries were postponed from the time of the attack on June 3 to June 16, including nearly 200 oncological surgeries and organ transplants. Some procedures were redirected to other NHS facilities. While most of the transfers occurred in the first week post-incident, the number has since decreased.
The impact of the Synnovis attack continues to affect medical services in London, though staff are working tirelessly to address the issues. Blood testing, initially operating at 10% capacity, has been boosted to 30% thanks to support from other NHS labs.
Medical university students were called upon to volunteer at impacted hospitals. They were advised to be prepared for extended shifts. Additionally, an urgent appeal has been made for blood group I (Group O) donors as the hospital is unable to procure blood for patients in the usual manner due to the incident.
In early June, Synnovis, a provider of pathology services for hospitals and clinics in London, was targeted in an attack by Qilin, leading to significant disruptions that prompted NHS to declare a regional state of emergency.
For a period of time, Synnovis and investigators refrained from releasing details of the ongoing investigation. However, this week, QILIN published 104 files totaling 3.7 GB of confidential Synnovis information. Typically, the release of stolen data indicates the victim’s refusal to comply with ransom demands.
Hackers, who had previously claimed their actions were politically motivated, expressed regret for any inconvenience caused in anonymous communication with the BBC. Nonetheless, they did not openly admit to any wrongdoing. According to the cybercriminals, the attack was a retaliation against the British government for undisclosed military actions.
An NHS spokesperson mentioned that the service is aware of the situation and is collaborating with Synnovis, the National Cybersecurity Center, and other partners to verify the contents of the leaked files. Experts are working to ascertain whether the data truly belongs to Synnovis and if it pertains to NHS patients.