UK’s Healthcare System Under Siege as Ransomware Gang Claims ‘Biggest Ever’ Breach

The UK’s largest National Health Service trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, fell victim to a ransomware attack by the ALPHV gang (BlackCat). The attackers stole 70 terabytes of data, marking the largest data breach in the UK healthcare industry. The University of Manchester and Ofcom also recently experienced similar attacks, highlighting the urgent necessity for improved cybersecurity in the UK public sector. Key pre-emptive measures proposed include implementing stronger security mechanisms, regular software updates, conducting routine security audits, data encryption, and creating incident response plans.