NHS is struggling to prepare for GDPR despite spending £1m. Matt Lock, Director of Sales Engineers at Varonis commented below.
Matt Lock, Director of Sales Engineers at Varonis:
“GDPR aside, the NHS will remain a high-value target for attackers due to the highly sensitive nature and the number of the patient healthcare records it holds. It must quickly get their house in order – not only to meet the GDPR but also to guard against the next ransomware attack. The WannaCry ransomware attack hit the NHS less than one year ago and its effects were devastating.
The challenges are real. Like many large healthcare systems, the NHS must deal with legacy infrastructure that was not designed to handle the volume of data and operating systems in use today. They’ve got to address and replace outdated and unsupported systems as a first step, and this costs money.
Spending £1m seems like a large investment, but after this funding is distributed across hundreds of facilities throughout the UK, the amount is likely to be far than adequate given the challenges facing the NHS. Organisations must stand accountable, address these issues and move forward quickly, perhaps faster than they may be accustomed to. Today’s technology and threats demand nothing less.”
