December 9, 2015
NHS Trusts across England do not have adequate training programmes in place to ensure their employees are guarded against cyber threats. This is according to a recent freedom of information request aimed at NHS Trusts in England carried out by Accellion.
The research revealed that while 71 per cent of NHS Trusts questioned acknowledged the use of smartphones or tablets in the workplace, an equal number admitted to having a limited or no training programme in place for how to safeguard organisational information when using these devices. Given the fact that many data breaches are the result of accidental insider leaks or lost/stolen devices, the absence of a formal and recurring training programme is alarming.
The uptake in smart technology is in direct correlation with the increasing number of cyber attacks in the healthcare sector, where patient data is seen to be of greater value to hackers than financial details when sold on the black market.