This incident was not targeted against the National Health Service but against Advanced, a third-party software supplier to the NHS. We have worked closely with Advanced to restore services. The majority of NHS services have now been reconnected and we are supporting the few NHS organisations still undergoing reconnecting. All but one of the affected mental health providers have now been reconnected and are in the restoration phase.<\/p>
The incident has impacted data submission to the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS). The MHSDS monthly publication has been reclassified as experimental statistics to reflect this. Caveats are included on the publication page to warn users when interpreting the data. The NHS Digital data liaison service and data quality teams are in regular communication with providers and continue to monitor the impact on submissions and reporting.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "131272"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-03T13:23:45.827Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "NHS: Cybersecurity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2022 to Question 84943 on NHS Digital: Cybersecurity, what steps he has taken to ensure that a similar cyber incident does not occur again.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4573", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Rosena Allin-Khan"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Tooting"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Rosena Allin-Khan"} ], "uin" : "131274"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1563429", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1563429/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Following the cyber-attack in August 2022 on the third-party software supplier to health and care, Advanced, the majority of services in the National Health Service have been reconnected and we are working with Advanced to support NHS organisations that are going through the process of reconnection.<\/p>
As with previous incidents, work is now being undertaken to review the response and identify lessons to support and improve the response to future incidents.<\/p>
The Cyber Security Strategy for Health and Care, which will be published this year, will detail increasing focus on supply chain. This will include measures to support our critical suppliers to build resilience against attacks like the one on Advanced this Summer. By increasing regulatory control and standards, embedding stronger assurance processes and developing the tools to help health and social care organisations to triage supplier risks, it should enable us to respond more quickly and effectively to manage impact.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-01-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-01-09T09:12:47.497Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-12-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "NHS: Cybersecurity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the cyberattack on the NHS in September 2022.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4603", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birmingham, Edgbaston"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Preet Kaur Gill"} ], "uin" : "114773"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1236171", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1236171/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Thanks to over £250 million of investment nationally by 2021, the cyber maturity and security posture of National Health Service organisations has increased over the past three years and continues to do so. Cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks, remain a major risk for the NHS and the cyber programme we have implemented has a strong focus on managing that risk.<\/p>
<\/p>
We are using the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to assess cyber security performance at an organisation level, and this information is collated nationally to help inform policy and investment decisions. The DSPT helps organisations understand their data and cyber security risks and encourages the inclusion of cyber security in business continuity planning.<\/p>
<\/p>
We are also helping NHS organisations increase their preparedness to recover from successful cyber attacks. During the COVID-19 response period, we have put in place additional cyber security protection for the NHS, including additional incident response capacity, a rapid remediation programme, and enhancements to the NHS Digital Cyber Security Operations Centre to increase monitoring.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4527", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Whately"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Faversham and Mid Kent"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Helen Whately"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1236171/answer/previousversion/49833", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1481", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mid Bedfordshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Ms Nadine Dorries"} } , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-02T15:43:05.107Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "NHS: Cybersecurity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent suspected ransomware attack on a hospital in Dusseldorf, what assessment he has made of the NHS\u2019s ability to withstand a cyber attack.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1538", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rosie Cooper"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "West Lancashire"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Rosie Cooper"} ], "uin" : "92740"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1194403", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1194403/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
It is not possible to completely eliminate cyber threats and cyber actors have already been seen to attempt to exploit this pandemic. It is therefore critically important that the National Health Service remains resilient to cyber-attacks. To support the NHS and further strengthen cyber resilience across the system during the COVID-19 response period, we are providing enhanced central support and additional funding to help local NHS organisations to manage their cyber risks. This includes:<\/p>
<\/p>
- NHSX working collaboratively with the National Cyber Security Centre and NHS Digital to rapidly understand cyber security vulnerabilities;<\/p>
- a rapid remediation programme to immediately fix major cyber security vulnerabilities in high priority NHS organisations, those most critical to the COVID-19 response;<\/p>
- working closely with the host organisations for the NHS Nightingale sites to review their cyber security posture and help them quickly remediate vulnerabilities; and<\/p>
- increased \u2018boots-on the ground\u2019 contingency capacity for incident response.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1481", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ms Nadine Dorries"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mid Bedfordshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Ms Nadine Dorries"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-05-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-05-21T11:59:40.047Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-05-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "NHS: Cybersecurity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources the Government is committing to the NHS\u2019s cyber security protocols as part of the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4124", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chi Onwurah"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newcastle upon Tyne Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chi Onwurah"} ], "uin" : "45187"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1126877", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1126877/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The information requested on cyber spending covers sensitive detail about cyber security investment for the National Health Service. In this instance, releasing this information at the level of any annual breakdown may assist in determining the effectiveness of detecting cyber-attacks on the NHS, and could compromise measures to protect NHS IT systems, leaving them vulnerable to future cyber-attacks.<\/p>
However, in total, over £250 million will have been invested nationally to improve the cyber security of the health and care system between 2016 and 2021. This excludes both investment by local organisations, and wider national IT investment which supports better security such as Microsoft licensing for NHS organisations.<\/p>
Regarding the steps taken to defend against cyber attacks on the NHS, the active cyber defence of NHS organisations is a local responsibility for each organisation to carry out. However, there is national support and practical guidance available to NHS organisations which is primarily delivered by NHS Digital but supported and prioritised for the highest risk organisations by NHS England and the Department. In the event of national-scale incidents that affect many health and care organisations, NHS Digital plays a vital role in coordinating and ensuring appropriate technical remediation, as part of the wider cross-system cyber security response led by the Department.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4065", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dame Jackie Doyle-Price"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Thurrock"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jackie Doyle-Price"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "254786"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-05-24T12:33:05.65Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-05-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "NHS: Cybersecurity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the National Health Service spent on cyber security in each of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1586", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Adam Afriyie"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Windsor"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Adam Afriyie"} ], "uin" : "254785"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/964572", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/964572/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The National Health Service is putting in place robust measures to protect IT systems against cyber-attacks. Since May 2017 the Government has invested £60 million to support NHS providers to improve their security position, with a further £150 million pledged up until 2021 to improve the NHS\u2019s resilience against attacks.<\/p>
The Department published its progress report in February 2018 entitled \u2018Securing cyber resilience in health and care: progress update\u2019. The report is available at the following link:<\/p>
<\/p>