Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

NHS records theft: Government weighs action against hackers

The National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre are holding discussions about how to strike back at Russian cybercriminal group Qilin

NHS records theft: Government weighs action against hackers

The government is considering retaliatory action against Russian hackers for stealing confidential data from several London hospitals after a cyber attack on a blood testing lab, The Guardian reports.

The Russian cybercriminal group Qilin had on June 3 carried out a cyber attack on Synnovis, a lab company that provides testing services to many hospitals in London.


The stolen records cover 300 million patient interactions with the NHS, including the results of blood tests for HIV and cancer.

Qilin made the data public by putting it on their darknet site and Telegram channel early Friday after their ransom demand of £40 million was ignored.

The affected London hospitals, which include Guy’s, St Thomas’ and King’s services, have set up helplines to answer queries of anxious patients.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are holding discussions about how to respond.

UK law enforcement has a precedent of taking on ransomware gangs directly. The NCA recently disrupted the operations of the world’s largest ransomware outfit – the LockBit group – in a joint operation with international partners.

The operation was carried out jointly with the FBI, Europol, and a coalition of international police agencies.

It led to the unmasking of the gang’s alleged leader Dmitry Khoroshev, a Russian national.

NHS England has cautioned patients that they may be targeted by criminals seeking a ransom. They have been advised to immediately call Action Fraud.

Qilin has reportedly locked Synnovis out of its IT system.

This has affected many hospitals and they were forced to ration access to blood tests. Many surgeries have been put off.

The NHS has shifted some of the cases to other lab service providers and managed to increase the number of blood tests.

More For You

indian-illegal-workers-arrested

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to over 800 premises

Getty Images

Over 600 arrested for working illegally, 73 per cent increase from last year

UK immigration enforcement teams made over 600 arrests in January, a 73 percent increase on the same period a year ago, as part of the new Labour government's plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday.

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to over 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

HUNDREDS of demonstrators protested at a site earmarked for Beijing's controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns.

The new embassy -- if approved by the UK government -- would be the "biggest Chinese embassy in Europe", one lawmaker said earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian man arrested in US for alleged sexual assault

Singh is charged with “assault with sexual motivation” (Photo for representation: iStock)

Indian man arrested in US for alleged sexual assault

AN INDIAN national is among four persons arrested by US immigration authorities over charges related to sexual assault.

Jaspal Singh, 29, an Indian citizen was arrested on January 29 in Tukwila, Washington.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer sacks minister over WhatsApp messages

Andrew Gwynne (Photo: UK parliament)

Starmer sacks minister over WhatsApp messages

A Labour party lawmaker said he regretted "badly misjudged" comments after prime minister Keir Starmer sacked him as a minister.

It is the latest bump in the road Starmer's government has hit in its first seven months in power despite a landslide election victory in July last year.

Keep ReadingShow less