The UK government has announced plans to strengthen the National Health Service’s (NHS) cybersecurity.
A new multi-million-pound Microsoft package will ensure NHS systems are using the latest Windows 10 software with up-to-date security settings to help prevent cyberattacks.
The government said that, since 2017, it had invested £60 million to address cybersecurity weaknesses.
There are plans for a further £150 million to be spent over the next three years to improve the NHS’s resilience against attacks.
This will include, the government says, setting up a new digital security operations centre to prevent, detect and respond to incidents.
The centre will allow NHS Digital to respond to cyberattacks more quickly and allow local trusts to detect threats, isolate infected machines and kill the threat before it spreads.
Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We know cyberattacks are a growing threat, so it is vital our health and care organisations have secure systems which patients trust.
“We have been building the capability of NHS systems over a number of years but there is always more to do to future-proof our NHS against this threat.
“This new technology will ensure the NHS can use the latest and most resilient software available – something the public rightly expect.”
