Russian hackers demand £40m ransom from NHS

St Thomas's Hospital in London was one of those affected by the cyber attack

Credit: Andrius Kaziliunas/iStock

Russian hackers who targeted NHS hospitals have demanded a £40 million ransom.

The group,called Qilin,claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on computer systems run by Synnovis,which provides pathology services to hospitals and GP surgeries in London.

More than 1,100 operations have been postponed as a result of the attack on June 3,which have left three major London hospital trusts struggling to process blood,urine and tissue tests.

New figures,released on Thursday,revealed that 1,134 operations and 2,194 outpatient appointments at King’s College and Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital trusts have been cancelled in the two weeks since.

NHS officials apologised to patients affected,with those waiting for routine blood tests from GP surgeries also impacted.

‘Continuing to have significant impact’

Dr Chris Streather,the medical director for the NHS in London,said there was “a reduction in the number of elective procedures being postponed” but the cyber attack was “continuing to have a significant impact on NHS services in south-east London”.

He added: “Having treatment postponed is distressing for patients and their families,and I would like to apologise to any patient who has been impacted by the incident. Staff are continuing to work hard to re-arrange appointments and treatments as quickly as possible.  

 

“Patients should access services in the normal way by dialling 999 in an emergency,and otherwise use NHS 111 through the NHS App,online or on the phone. They should also continue to attend appointments unless they are told otherwise by the clinic team.”

Investigation ongoing

It is understood the Qilin group,thought to have links to Vladimir Putin,the Russian president,has threatened to publish data stolen in the breach.

Ciaran Martin,the first head of GCHQ’s national cyber security centre,had previously said Qilin appeared to be behind the attack. A Qilin website,on which the group listed its alleged victims,disappeared from the internet in the days after the hack. Another page remained online,but Synnovis was not listed.

A Synnovis spokesman said: “The investigation into the attack continues,including any possible impact to data. Once further information is known,we will report in line with the Information Commissioner’s Office requirements,and prioritise the notification of any impacted individuals or partners as required.

“We also continue to engage with law enforcement and the information commissioner and are working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre and NHS England’s cyber operations team.”

‘Definition of worst of humanity’

The mother of a three-year-old whose kidneys do not work and who depends on dialysis said her daughter’s treatment was disrupted because of the attack.

Emma,who chose not to give her second name,told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They are directly attacking and targeting babies,toddlers and amazing children at the Evelina Children’s Hospital. 

“That hospital is the definition of what is the best of humanity,and what they [the hackers] are doing is the definition of the worst of humanity.”

Representatives of Qilin apologised for the disruption but suggested the attack was justified by the British government’s involvement in unspecified wars,according to Bloomberg. The representative added that they had cut contact with Synnovis after their demand for a ransom payment was not met within a 120-hour deadline.

Qilin first emerged in 2022 and has been responsible for 29 ransomware attacks globally this year,according to research by Comparitech.