Implications for care providers
Security breaches can happen when we use paper records, send faxes and even verbally. However, the consequences of security breaches with digital information are potentially far more severe. This is because substantial amounts of information can be distributed more easily and to a far wider audience.
The impact of a cyber breach or attack can be significant and costly. This can include:
- financial losses due to theft from bank accounts, fake requests for payments, including ransonware demands
- the time lost through having to fix your website or systems
- the potential loss of customers
- damage to your reputation
- other potential consequences of a hacker getting their hands on your data.
For example, one care provider came under a serious attack – employee rosters were deleted affecting care arrangements across several service locations. Passwords to senior managers’ emails and service users’ digital records were changed and the company’s website was removed.
A former staff member told us:
“I cannot express the emotional stress this caused. It felt like we were watching a burglary on CCTV without any power to intervene. Email accounts literally disappeared mid-email. It felt like being in a Hollywood film about it. As soon as we made a fix on one area something else went down or became disrupted.”
Prevalence of cyber security incidents
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024, half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) report having experienced any kind of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months.
Among these organisations, the most common types of breaches or attacks are phishing attacks.
