Former NCSC head 'not surprised' by attack.
The former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has said he is “horrified, but not completely surprised” by the recent attack on Synnovis and the NHS.
In an interview with the BBC, Professor Ciaran Martin, said: "It was obvious that this was going to be one of the most serious cyber incidents in British history because of the disruption to healthcare" and stressed the importance of identifying "single points of failure" in the system and implementing better backups.
In particular, Martin identified three critical issues facing NHS cybersecurity: outdated IT systems, the need to identify vulnerable points, and the importance of basic security practices.
The ransomware
attack began in early June when Synnovis was hit, and subsequently pathology systems at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, as well as GP services across South London, were affected.
Written by
Dan Raywood
Senior Editor
SC Media UK
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.
Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.
