Delays in obtaining blood test results were among “a number of contributing factors” that led to the patient’s death.
Last year’s ransomware attack on London-based pathology provider Synnovis has been identified as a contributing factor in the death of a patient, the NHS has confirmed.
The June 2024 cyber-attack by the Qilin cybercrime group disrupted blood testing services across multiple NHS hospitals and care providers in the capital.
A spokesperson for King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said delays in obtaining blood test results were among “a number of contributing factors” that led to the patient’s death, as first reported by the Health Service Journal.
The Synnovis attack was one of two major cyber incidents in 2024 formally linked to patient safety risks, according to NHS reporting last month. It is believed that the personal data of more than 900,000 individuals was compromised in the incident, with the attackers publishing sensitive test results, including details relating to sexually transmitted infections and cancer symptoms.
Despite the scale of the breach, many affected patients have yet to be informed about exactly what information was exposed.
In a statement to
The Record, Synnovis CEO Mark Dollar expressed condolences to the affected family, acknowledging the cyber-attack’s tragic consequences, while the company said it is nearing completion of its internal investigation.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 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 Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
