Lincolnshire Talks: Is the cyber attack on the NHS a sign of things to come in the future?
The cyber attack on the NHS this time last week caused a great deal of shock and distress for the public, with vital health services in Lincolnshire affected and staff rushed off their feet having to cope. Now that hospitals and GP surgeries appear to have thankfully recovered, we can all breathe a sigh of…
The cyber attack on the NHS this time last week caused a great deal of shock and distress for the public, with vital health services in Lincolnshire affected and staff rushed off their feet having to cope. Now that hospitals and GP surgeries appear to have thankfully recovered, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. But can we expect more of these types of cyber attacks in the future? And more importantly, how do we prevent them?
The malware attack froze computers across a number of NHS trusts on Friday, May 12 threatening to delete key files unless a ransom was paid.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, in charge of the county’s hospitals, was one of those affected, with services impacted in Lincoln, Boston and Grantham.
All computers and phone lines were shut down and outpatient, endoscopy, cardiology and radiology appointments scheduled for the weekend were cancelled.
GP surgeries across the county were forced to take precautions and revert back to more traditional methods of communicating such as pen and paper.
Hackers also targeted global organisations such as Telefonica, Deutsche Bahn, Nissan and FedEx as the attack became a worldwide threat.
A so-called “accidental hero” based in south-west England, who identified himself only as MalwareTech, caused an unexpected and welcome halt to the attack by inadvertently activating a “kill switch” in the malicious software.
However, while the attack was ongoing, politicians were quick to try and deflect any blame from them, wary about any negative coverage ahead of the upcoming general election on June 8.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was especially identified for criticism by some, with claims that NHS trusts had not received sufficient funding to update their systems, which meant that many were still running outdated and vulnerable Windows XP software.
By contrast, Home Secretary Amber Rudd appeared to point the finger at the NHS, stating that trusts needed to learn the lessons from the attack and ensure they upgrade their systems.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents most trusts, said: “The quick rush by some to lay the blame on ‘incompetent NHS managers’ is disappointing.
“It feels like the usual NHS bashing and is unsupported by evidence.”
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth was unsurprisingly quick to criticise the Conservative government’s handling of the crisis.
He said: “NHS trusts have been running thousands of outdated and unsupported Windows XP machines despite the government ending its annual £5.5 million deal with Microsoft, which provided ongoing security support for Windows XP, in May 2015.
“It effectively means that unless individual trusts were willing to pay Microsoft for an extended support deal, since May 2015 their operating systems have been extremely vulnerable to being hacked.”
‘A way to make easy money’
An attack of this nature is not something which individuals and organisations are unaccustomed to here in Lincolnshire. Over the last year, Lincolnshire County Council and the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce have both been handicapped by similar ransomware attacks.
Yvonne James is a lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Lincoln, specialising in cyber security.
She told Lincolnshire Reporter that ransomware attacks are already very common and are becoming increasingly more so.
She said: “A recent survey by a company called Malwarebytes has thrown up some interesting statistics. In a survey they conducted 54% of UK companies have been hit by a ransomware attack.
“For the hacker it is a way to make easy money. Over half the companies in the UK that have been hit will pay the ransom and hope their data is restored.
“Hackers are using more sophisticated attacks which can go unnoticed by security software. The National Crime Agency Cyber Industry Group released a report in July 2016 that identified cyber crime as 35% of total crime committed in 2015.
“A major issue in the attack on Friday was that too many organisations do not pay close attention to the network security.
“Many organisations also have older technology so may be running some computers on Windows XP for example.
“There is no longer any support for these older systems so patches are not made available and they become very easy targets for the hacker.
“In this case a patch was released by Microsoft in April 2017 which should have been applied to all systems.
“This would have helped to limit the effects and the virus may not have been so widespread.
“Instead we have had a situation where many organisations that have been hit are still suffering downtime which can result in a loss of revenue, loss of files and staff not able to work.”
Reducing the risk
The university lecturer also offered some helpful tips for how businesses and individuals can minimise the risk of such attacks.
She added: “People should invest in good security software and update their computer whenever updates are available.
“Having up to date technology is also beneficial as the technology companies will provide support for operating systems so patches will be easily available.
“Organisations also have to realise that data has become highly important to any business operation and should be the first consideration in any security policy.”
How concerned are you about the rise in cybercrime? Let us know in the comments below or by emailing [email protected]
Stefan is the Local Democracy Reporter covering Greater Lincolnshire. You can contact him directly with your news via email at [email protected]
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A remarkable four-bedroom town house with a cinema room and a hot tub overlooking Lincoln has been put on the market, and could be yours for £1.3 million.
The Heights on Carline Road in Lincoln is arranged over four floors and enjoys panoramic viewpoints of the city, with estate agents JH Walter valuing the home at £1,299,950.
The 4,150 sq ft property is situated on the Bailgate and comes with four bedrooms, as well as four bathrooms, a cinema room, a hot tub on the balcony and a galleried landing area.
The property has underfloor heating and air conditioning, as well as electrically operated blinds and bifold doors to open up onto a terraced balcony.
It also has electric gated access to a secure parking area, as well as an electric double garage and enclosed garden space around the back of the house.
The living room comes with a wall mounted Stovax log burner. | Photo: JHWalter
Let’s take a further look inside:
An open plan kitchen/dining/living area with bifold doors out to a balcony. | Photo: JHWalter
Once you do step outside, the balcony has a hot tub with stunning views of uphill Lincoln. | Photo: JHWalter
Looking down from the staircase. | Photo: JHWalter
The master bedroom has jaw-dropping scenery and views. | Photo: JHWalter
One of the three guest bedrooms. | Photo: JHWalter
The large designer family bathroom is stylish and spacious, complete with a bath tub and separate shower. | Photo: JHWalter
Even the study has glorious backdrops. | Photo: JHWalter
Just look at how far you can see! | Photo: JHWalter
The Strait & Narrow in Lincoln is unable to reopen normally under the current coronavirus lockdown restrictions due to not having a beer garden, but that hasn’t stopped the bar from coming up with a different way to reach customers.
From April 12 pubs, bars and restaurants are allowed to open for outdoor service only. Indoor service is currently scheduled to be permitted from May 17 as part of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.
Jez Nash, who owns the Strait & Narrow and The Rogue Saint, and his team have been developing a new cocktail menu with the recent addition of alcohol cocktail slushies.
Customers can choose from a Pornstar Martini Slushie, served with Prosecco, or a Banana & Mango Daiquiri. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Take a look at the menu. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Customers can now buy them from special drinks hatch outside Strait & Narrow, which opened on Monday, April 12.
It will be open between 12pm-6pm every day.
Strait & Narrow is serving slushie cocktails from a hatch until it is able to reopen fully again in May 2021. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Two slushie cocktails to choose from at the Strait & Narrow’s drinks hatch. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Customers can choose from a Pornstar Martini Slushie, served with Prosecco, or a Banana & Mango Daiquiri.
There is also a Espresso Martini on the menu, as well as hot drinks – tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
Charlie Brassington, deputy manager at Strait & Narrow, serving up some slushie cocktails. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Tom Remington, General Manager at The Rogue Saint, and some of the drinks and merchandise available to buy from the hatch at Strait & Narrow. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Bottled cocktails from the Strait Crates menu, as well as various canned drinks, can be purchased for drinking at home. Strait & Narrow merchandise, including t-shirts and hoodies, is also available to buy.
Jez told The Lincolnite: “We did similar last Christmas after lockdown hit and when the roadmap was announced we were developing a new cocktail menu, and we have also added slushies, so this was a good opportunity to test them out.”
Strait & Narrow is hoping to be back open as normal from May 17. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Strait Crates will also continue to trade online as normal, while The Rogue Saint is hoping to reopen on June 21 depending on the latest government guidance.
Jez also plans to open Strait & Narrow 2 and 3 with the Rogue Saint as part of the fold. The two new bars will be within an hour of the current premises and they are expected to open in 2022.
A woman at the centre of a £1 million cannabis growing operation had her assets confiscated after a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court.
Thuy Phan, 30, had £34,640 confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The amount includes a car and money held in bank accounts which are currently the subject of a restraining order.
Judge John Pini QC ruled that her benefit from crime was £1,362,747 with her available assets ordered to be confiscated.
She was given three months to hand over the amount or face a further six months in prison.
Phan, of Lime Crescent, Lincoln, appeared at today’s hearing via video link from Peterborough Prison where she is serving a sentence of six years and nine months imposed in November 2020 for offences of conspiracy to produce cannabis, possession of criminal property, conversion of criminal property and transferring criminal property.
Hearings to consider the confiscation of assets of three men were adjourned to next month.
Zaiur Rahman, 33, Moinul Islam, 42, and Thai Han, 28, were also involved in the national cannabis growing operation. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Ziaur Rahman, 33, of Hillingdon, West London; Moinul Islam, 42, of Hillingdon, West London; and Thai Han ,28, of Lime Crescent, Lincoln; all admitted conspiracy to produce cannabis and were sentenced in November.
Thuy Phan and Thai Han were arrested in January 2019 whilst driving back to Lincoln. A bag containing £14,625 cash was found in the back of their vehicle.
The subsequent police investigation revealed that between November 2017 and November 2019, four properties in Lincoln and a further property in Middlesbrough had been rented to grow cannabis.
The Lincoln properties were in Euston Close, Grafton Street, Drake Street and Monks Road.
The street value of the cannabis recovered from these addresses was up to £988,680.
Officers also discovered that the grow in Monks Road was being run by a victim of modern slavery.
During the investigation officers discovered that Thuy Phan was in control of over 30 bank accounts.
A large number of these belonged to Vietnamese students living in the UK, who she paid in order to use their bank accounts.
It was identified that these accounts had a turnover of over £2.3m which Phan had laundered back to Vietnam. Han had played a key role in renting the properties for the cannabis grows.
Further inquiries identified that both Islam and Rahman had been working with Thuy Phan and Thai Han resulting in the two men being arrested in July 2019.