Healthcare – A Risky Business
When Cyber Attacks and Healthcare are spoken in the same sentence, Hospitals tend to be the target that springs to mind, and with good reason. The 2017 WannaCry cyber attack saw 80 out of the 236 NHS trusts affected, costing £92 million to the taxpayer and putting lives at risk due to the lack of key patient data. With 81% of UK Healthcare organisations facing a ransomware attack in 2021 (1), the apathy that cyber criminals show towards the impact that this can have means that the healthcare system will continue to have face this threat for the foreseeable future.
However, there is one area of the UK’s health sector that has currently been forgotten as a vulnerability with the UK’s Healthcare infrastructure – Social Care. From caring for those in their autumn years who want to live out this time with dignity, to aiding those with physical and mental disabilities to enable them to live as independent a life as possible. Care Homes, Home Care and Assisted Living all play a crucial role in the social fabric of the UK, and yet they face some extraordinary challenges.
A Unique Cyber Challenge
Unlike the NHS, these are almost all privately funded or charity-based organisations. Whilst there are many large-scale Care Providers, many would be considered small or medium enterprises. Added together, this puts Social Care in a particularly vulnerable position. Every 19 seconds in the UK, a small business is successfully attacked (2), with 60% of SME’s going out of business within 6 months due the financial and reputational damage caused (3). Coupled with the fact that 41% of UK Charities facing at least on cyber-attack last year (4), two of the key subsectors of Social Care both face enormous challenges.
“But surely there must be some checks that Care Providers must abide by in the digital age?” The answer to this is a little complicated. If a care home wants access to NHS patient data or NHS systems, they will be required to apply for an NHS email address and complete The Data Security & Protection Toolkit (DSPT). For care homes this is currently evaluated by self-assessment, meaning that whilst many care providers will attempt to achieve the legal standards required, there is always the danger that for some – this may simply be a “tick box” exercise.
This is not true of the entire NHS, and many entities within the NHS do require an independent assessment/audit. If the legislation changes to adapt to the ever-growing threat to data security, there may very well be a change in this that would leave those who ticked the right boxes scrambling to make the necessary adjustments under extraordinary time pressure.
One Stop Solution
With an ever-growing cyber threat to the healthcare sector, legislative requirements and new laws coming into effect that could bring further fines if there’s a data breach – what are the options for Social Care Providers? The team here at KryptoKloud have been working with the Lincolnshire Care Association and Melanie Weatherley MBE on the challenges faced by this sector over the past few years. Together we have carefully analysed their requirements and come up with the first cyber & business resilience service developed specifically for UK Social Care Providers –
KryptoCare+
This has been developed to not only provide 24/7 cyber protection through a combination of leading 3rd party platforms and our very own Cyber Security Analysts, but to also work with Care Providers to ensure that their processes and infrastructure are DSPT and DPA compliant. Through our very own KryptoCare+ DSPT Cyber Resilience Audit, care providers can feel assured that they have a robust business resilience as both technology and the threats move forward.
Not only will our KryptoCare+ cyber partners have their business processes and technology overseen and guided, but also their staff. Many cyber attacks start through human error, with vigilance being the best weapon against this. With our half-day Cyber Awareness Training Course, a care providers greatest cyber risk can become an added line of defence.
If you’re a Social Care Provider whose concern’s have all centred around Covid-19, yet you know that digital virus’ are also a threat to both your organisation and those under your care – get in touch with us on 01522 437123 or [email protected]
(1) https://healthcare-digital.com/hospitals/defending-the-nhs-from-cyber-attacks-in-2022