As well as general worries about the healthcare sector on the whole, we may also need to worry about private cybersecurity firms putting the NHS at risk of data breaches as well.
This is an important topic to look at as we continue to review the growing concerns surrounding data protection in our national health service. We know the NHS is a target given the wealth of personal and sensitive data they process and store, and we know that more and more services are being outsourced private companies.
We cannot ignore the risks that private cybersecurity firms themselves may put the NHS at, and victims must know what they need to do. There’s a reason as to why data breach compensation amounts can be high when it comes to breaches of medical information, as the distress that can be caused can be significant.
How are private cybersecurity firms putting the NHS at risk?
It may be the case that private cybersecurity firms putting the NHS at risk is just as problematic as the risks posed from in-house problems as well.
Where the NHS outsources matters of cybersecurity and general data protection, they’re still responsible for ensuring that the law is complied with. In an age where there’s understood to be lack of funding in the NHS for cybersecurity matters, and a lack of specialist personnel, how can we be assured that outsourced private companies are protecting the data they handle?
In short, we can’t, unless the NHS has measures in place to enforce compliance.
An example
Although not necessarily a case of private cybersecurity firm, the NHS Digital group action we’re fighting for justice in is an example of an outsourced private company being blamed.
The company that was responsible for the coding error that led to the problem is being understandably placed at fault, but the data was still medical data that was for use by NHS Digital.
What can be done about private cybersecurity firms putting the NHS at risk?
Really, the issue of private cybersecurity firms putting the NHS at risk in terms of data protection breaches, leaks and hacks must be a matter of due diligence for health service to keep on top of.
But when it comes to what the victims can do, there really shouldn’t be any issues in terms of obtaining justice for NHS data protection breach compensation claims.
Whether the final blame lies with the NHS directly or with an outsourced company, you should still be able to initiate and settle a case where negligence has taken place. As part of our claims investigations, we can determine who the blame should be placed with and who should therefore be pursued as part of a case.