According to research by Redscan, a tech support and cloud services company, the NHS’s ‘cyber resilience’ strategy is substandard and not fit for purpose. The findings of the research outlined a National Health Service failing to meet targets in the aftermath of the disastrous and costly WannaCry cyber attack that brought the NHS to its knees – resulting in hospital ward closures and cancelled operations.

The survey, based on Freedom of Information requests from 226 NHS trusts, found that 43 had not allocated funding directly towards cyber security processes or service improvements. The inability to implement a cohesive cyber security policy and framework is proving to be problematic with long term consequences for NHS trusts UK-wide.

According to Redscan, skills shortages are also a major issue facing trusts:

“On average, NHS trusts employ just one qualified security professional per 2,582 employees. Nearly a quarter of trusts have no employees with security qualifications (24 out of 108 trusts), despite some employing as many as 16,000 full and part-time personnel.

Several NHS organisations that employ no qualified cybersecurity professionals reported having staff members in the process of obtaining relevant security qualifications – perhaps an indication of the difficulties of hiring trained professionals.”

Investing in cyber security talent and resources can help protect your business. If you are unsure about cyber security and qualifications to help boost your security education among your IT staff, the National Cyber Security Centre can provide useful links and access to databases and resources on certified cyber security courses that can help empower your business.