Synnovis Attack Impacts 8000 NHS Patient Procedures

London’s healthcare system is still experiencing the ripple effect of the cyber incident that crippled them 6 weeks ago. A recent update surfaced highlighting the number of patient procedures affected due to the ransomware attack at Synnovis. Nearly 8000 NHS patient procedures including organ transplants and cancer treatments have been cancelled, postponed or diverted to other hospitals in London. In particular, 6,199 acute outpatient appointments and 1,491 elective procedures have been postponed so far.

Although the number has fallen, the disruption is ongoing and has a significant impact on patients. One of the spokes people by NHS said they are working towards minimising the disruption and developing plans for restoration. However, the impact goes beyond just the patient procedures. The national blood supplies are facing the heat too.

NHS said that hospitals are using universal blood types which is affecting the national blood stock in the region. They added that the attack nearly affected all their systems which hindered their ability to process samples. The Russian group Qilin who claimed the credit for the attack; the group stole and leaked 4TB of the pathology firm’s data which impacted on the analysers’ ability to identify and process incoming samples.

Synnovis, facing operational challenges due to compromised IT systems, is gradually restoring capacity with a focus on critical clinical functions. The firm has implemented new measures to enhance the security and efficiency of hospital information systems.

Both NHS and Synnovis have refrained from disclosing specific incident details, underscoring the need for heightened cybersecurity  vigilance across the healthcare sector. This incident highlights global concerns over cyber threats impacting essential healthcare services.