London Hospitals Hit by Major Cyber Attack, Disrupting Critical Services
A ransomware attack on Synnovis, a pathology services provider, has severely disrupted operations at two major NHS trusts in London King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The incident, declared a regional critical incident by NHS England London, has led to widespread delays in medical services, including blood tests, transplants, and surgeries.
In the first week alone, over 800 planned operations and 700 outpatient appointments were rescheduled, while 18 organs were diverted to other trusts and five elective C-sections postponed. Blood tests at GP surgeries have been rerouted, with urgent cases prioritized and optional screenings for blood-borne viruses (HIV, Hepatitis B and C) temporarily suspended. To mitigate shortages, NHS Blood and Transplant is urging donors with O Positive and O Negative blood types to contribute, as these "universal" types can be used without prior testing.
The attack has significantly reduced the number of tests that can be processed, though emergency and primary care services remain operational. NHS England London has committed to releasing weekly updates, with the next report due on 21 June. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether patient data was accessed, a common risk in ransomware incidents.
Medical director Dr. Chris Streather warned that the disruption would persist "for some time", with staff working around the clock to restore services. Synnovis is actively working to recover its IT systems, while the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has identified the attackers as Russian-linked criminal groups.
The incident underscores the vulnerability of healthcare systems to cyber threats, with long-term impacts on patient care still unfolding.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11v377eywo
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/guys-and-st-thomas-nhs-foundation-trust
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/king's-college-hospital-nhs-foundation-trust
Synnovis TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/synnovis
"id": "synkinguy1780792100",
"linkid": "synnovis, king's-college-hospital-nhs-foundation-trust, guys-and-st-thomas-nhs-foundation-trust",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "6/2024",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "7",
"explanation": "Attack that could injure or kill people"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'King’s College Hospital NHS '
'Foundation Trust, Guy’s and St '
'Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust',
'industry': 'Healthcare',
'location': 'London, UK',
'name': 'Synnovis',
'type': 'Pathology services provider'},
{'customers_affected': 'Patients',
'industry': 'Healthcare',
'location': 'London, UK',
'name': 'King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust',
'type': 'Hospital'},
{'customers_affected': 'Patients',
'industry': 'Healthcare',
'location': 'London, UK',
'name': 'Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust',
'type': 'Hospital'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Patients advised of delays and rescheduling; urgent '
'cases prioritized',
'data_breach': {'data_encryption': 'Yes (ransomware)',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Potential',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (medical records, personally '
'identifiable information)',
'type_of_data_compromised': 'Potential patient data'},
'description': 'A ransomware attack on Synnovis, a pathology services '
'provider, has severely disrupted operations at two major NHS '
'trusts in London (King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation '
'Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust). The '
'incident has led to widespread delays in medical services, '
'including blood tests, transplants, and surgeries.',
'impact': {'identity_theft_risk': 'Potential risk if patient data was '
'accessed',
'operational_impact': 'Delays in blood tests, transplants, '
'surgeries, and outpatient appointments; '
'diversion of organs; postponement of '
'elective C-sections',
'systems_affected': 'Pathology services, IT systems'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'ransomware': {'data_encryption': 'Yes'},
'references': [{'source': 'NHS England London'}],
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'NHS England London releasing weekly '
'updates',
'recovery_measures': 'Staff working around the clock to restore '
'services; rerouting blood tests; '
'prioritizing urgent cases',
'remediation_measures': 'Synnovis is actively working to recover '
'its IT systems',
'third_party_assistance': 'National Cyber Security Centre '
'(NCSC)'},
'stakeholder_advisories': 'NHS Blood and Transplant urging donors with O '
'Positive and O Negative blood types to contribute',
'threat_actor': 'Russian-linked criminal groups',
'title': 'London Hospitals Hit by Major Cyber Attack, Disrupting Critical '
'Services',
'type': 'Ransomware'}