‘Massive’ cybersecurity risk in NHS supply chain, trust and ICB leader warns

The NHS supply chain contains “absolutely massive” cybersecurity risks which have not “really been talked about”, an integrated care board and trust chair has warned.

Lena Samuels, who is chair of two London trusts and of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board, said: “We’ve been talking internally about our own organisations but we haven’t really talked about the supply chain and the risks within that – and that is absolutely massive.”

Ms Samuels, speaking at the NHS Confed Expo conference yesterday, said many NHS organisations still needed to question: “How do our risk registers capture what our supply chain resilience looks like in terms of cyber protection?”

She said NHS organisations also needed to be considering “who on my board is going to ask that question” and “whether they’re going to even think of asking that question”, adding: “There’s so much that we’ve got to think about.”

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Source: HSJ, 14 June 2024