Cyberattack forces London hospitals to stop non-urgent operations

Two hospital associations were forced to shut down some critical operations following a cyberattack.

The attack affected the pathology systems of both Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Foundation Trust in London, according to emails The Independent.

The target was Synnovis, a supplier of blood tests to the two hospital associations. According to sources close to the hospitals, the company reported on Monday that it had dealt with a malware attack.

According to a message distributed to employees on the same day, Synnovis informed hospital authorities about a “serious incident involving ICT systems.”

Report from The guard One healthcare worker described communication with required labs as being limited to paper only after Synnovis’ servers were taken offline to minimize risk.

This resulted in a backlog of blood tests being processed, resulting in cancellations and rebookings. GPs were instructed to cancel non-urgent pathology appointments and staff were instructed to only request emergency blood samples for patients requiring blood transfusions.

A critical incident has now been reported and several senior NHS sources have confirmed that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is now involved.

Transplants are being hampered by the inability to check patients’ blood tests, a senior NHS source said. The Independentand healthcare leaders were told that resolving the incident could apparently take “weeks or months.”

Healthcare providers must protect their important role

This attack is the latest in a a series of incidents affecting healthcare providers and underscores once again the vulnerable state of the healthcare industry, experts said ITPro.

“NHS systems are a prime target for cybercriminals because a tiny breach can impact multiple entities,” said Trevor Dearing, Director of Critical Infrastructure at Illumio.

“The ‘chaos factor’, that is, causing massive social unrest, is the driving force behind many cyberattacks today, and healthcare is one of the few sectors where cyberattacks can have deadly consequences for human life,” he added.

The attack also shows the “fragility of critical infrastructure” in the UK, said Dan Schiappa, CPO of Arctic Wolf. ITProand the hospitals themselves could take a long time to recover.

“As two of the UK’s busiest hospitals, they hold a wealth of personal and confidential patient information, meaning this attack could have long-term implications,” Schiappa said.

Schiappa noted that the incident demonstrates the widespread disruption threat actors can cause by targeting third-party vendors, adding that other users of Synnovis services will need to review their own security practices in the coming days.

Going forward, these hospitals must prioritize addressing “external-facing vulnerabilities” and strive to establish “comprehensive,” 24/7 security measures and privileged access management systems.

“Healthcare providers around the world should take the suggested steps to ensure patients can safely access care,” Schiappa said.

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