NHS cyber attack: Health service was warned 'again and again' about threat of hacking

The NHS was warned “again and again” about the dangers of a cyber attack, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said.

The Conservative politician also claimed the health service was given a “large chunk” of money to improve security amid claims from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that the Government had not renewed a key security deal.

On Saturday, Mr Corbyn said that an annual £5.5m deal with Microsoft to protect NHS devices was renewed in 2014 but not since.

Speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Mr Fallon said: “We're spending around £50m on the NHS cyber systems to improve their security.

Michael Fallon insisted the Government has been investing in NHS security
BBC

“We have encouraged NHS trusts to reduce their exposure to the weakest system, the Windows XP."

Concerns were raised of NHS security following Friday's hacking, with many questioning why some hospitals were using outdated Windows XP software.

NHS Digital told the BBC that several hundred thousand computers used Windows XP.

Mr Fallon added: “We want them to use modern systems that are better protected.

"We warned them, and they were warned again in the spring. They were warned again of the threats.”

Barts NHS Trust, which runs four London hospitals, was still experiencing problems following the hacking on Sunday.

Some planned appointments are still expected to be cancelled on Monday at The Royal London, St Bartholowmew's, Whipps Cross and Newham.

In statement, the trust said: “Where we need to cancel planned appointments, we will be contacting patients directly to make them aware and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“It is possible that we will not be able to contact all patients that we need to speak to, so we apologise if we are unable to proceed with your treatment once you arrive at hospital.

“We will prioritise clinically urgent planned appointments and our clinical teams are reviewing all our appointments to inform our decisions.”

On Saturday night, six Trusts continued to be affected by the attack that reportedly struck up to 70,000 devices across the health service.

The ransomware, which locked files and demanded payment to allow access, spread to 150 countries, including Spain, Russia, and the United States.

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