For some patients, last June’s ransomware attack targeting Synnovis, a company that provides blood testing and transfusions to the NHS, was devastating. Staff had to cancel or postpone 12,000 appointments or elective procedures in the London area. At least two patients suffered serious long-term harm as a consequence. On the official 1 to 6 matrix for cyber incidents, the Synnovis attack was deemed to be a 2.
Britain has yet to experience the highest, a Level 1 attack, but the day seems to be getting nearer. Six months before the Synnovis attack, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on National Security Strategy had published a report on ransomware that included a stark warning: “There is a high risk that the Government will face a catastrophic ransomware attack at any moment, and that its planning will be found lacking.”
Cyber crime and cyber espionage long ago superseded traditional organised crime as a security and economic threat. It is a very serious business. But the threat is about to go to the next level in terms of scale and impact because of the revolutionary capabilities of artificial intelligence.