In a concerning development, sensitive patient data stolen from Synnovis, an NHS provider offering pathology services, has been published online. The incident occurred after Synnovis fell victim to a ransomware attack on June 3rd, believed to be orchestrated by the Russian group Qilin.
NHS England has been alerted to the situation, with a criminal group claiming responsibility for releasing the hacked information. The data, totaling nearly 400GB, includes patient names, dates of birth, NHS numbers, and descriptions of blood tests. Additionally, financial arrangements between hospitals, GP services, and Synnovis were exposed.
The National Cyber Security Centre and other partners are collaborating with Synnovis to swiftly assess the content of the published files. Their investigation aims to determine whether the data indeed originates from the Synnovis system and whether it pertains to NHS patients.
As the situation unfolds, NHS England remains committed to keeping patients and the public informed. Meanwhile, more than 1,100 planned operations and 2,100 outpatient appointments have been postponed due to the data theft, impacting hospitals like King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Despite these disruptions, urgent and emergency services continue to operate without interruption. The incident underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard sensitive medical information.
