Synnovis, a company that supplies lab services such as blood tests, swabs, and bowel tests to major London hospitals, has been hit by a ransomware cyber attack.
This has affected all Synnovis IT systems, resulting in interruptions to many of the company's pathology services.
The cyber attack negatively impacted the delivery of services at hospitals run by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and hospitals run by King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Primary care services in southeast London were also affected, including GP services across Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley, Southwark and Lambeth boroughs.
"It is still early days and we are trying to understand exactly what has happened. A taskforce of IT experts from Synnovis and the NHS is working to fully assess the impact this has had, and to take the appropriate action needed. We are working closely with NHS Trust partners to minimise the impact on patients and other service users," Synnovis said in a statement on its website.
What happened in the hospitals?
The hospitals were forced to cancel or redirect appointments to other providers to enable them to prioritise urgent cases.
NHS providers have tried and tested business continuity plans for such incidents, which include offering mutual aid.
However, emergency care continued to be available, which patients could still access by dialling 999.
The cyber attack negatively impacted the delivery of services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts
The 111 service was also still available and patients were advised to continue to attend appointments unless they were advised otherwise.
A spokesperson for NHS England London region, said: “On Monday 3 June Synnovis, a provider of lab services, was the victim of a ransomware cyber attack.”
“This is having a significant impact on the delivery of services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and primary care services in southeast London and we apologise for the inconvenience this is causing to patients and their families,” the spokesperson continued.
“We are working urgently to fully understand the impact of the incident with the support of the government’s National Cyber Security Centre and our Cyber Operations team,” the spokesperson concluded.
Synnovis is a partnership between SYNLAB UK & Ireland, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
David Critchley, Regional Director UK&I at Armis, said: “With healthcare organisations experiencing a 13% increase in attack attempts last year, this latest breach comes as no surprise. The ransomware attack on a third-party provider has exposed vulnerabilities within the supply chain, leaving patients without access to essential treatment.”
“To avoid this type of attack, it’s vital that healthcare organisations have complete visibility and security for all connected medical devices, clinical assets as well as the entire healthcare ecosystem. They should also segment the network and create barriers between critical systems and older devices to help contain potential breaches and limit the damage attackers can inflict,” Critchley explained.
“Implementing best practices like strong passwords, firmware updates, and access control – alongside complete visibility of the attack surface – can improve cyber hygiene and make organisations less vulnerable. Healthcare organisations must understand that vulnerabilities can come from the supply chain too, so due diligence is essential,” Critchley concluded.
"This is a harsh reminder that this sort of attack can happen to anyone at any time and that, dispiritingly, the individuals behind it have no scruples about who their actions might affect," Synnovis. "The incident is being reported to law enforcement and the Information Commissioner, and we are working with the National Cyber Security Centre and the Cyber Operations Team."
