Cheshire and Merseyside ICS selects cyber security platform

Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System (ICS) has selected a healthcare cyber security platform to strengthen its defences following an increase in disruptive attacks on UK healthcare systems.

It follows multiple high profile cyber attacks which impacted the NH, including on pathology provider Synnovis in June 2024, which disrupted appointments and procedures across south east London and a ransomware attack at NHS Dumfries and Galloway in March 2024, which led to patient data being published on the dark web.

Cheshire and Merseyside ICS selected the Cynerio platform in March 2024 and signed an 18-month contract.

It will be rolled out on a phased basis at 14 NHS organisations within the ICS, with the aim of better protecting patient data, minimising vulnerabilities and reducing disruptions to care in the event of a cyber attack.

Matt Connor, chief digital information officer at Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Cynerio delivered exactly what we needed: comprehensive visibility into all networked medical devices across our ICS trusts.

“Deployment was efficient, and the vendor’s support was consistently responsive, helping us enhance our security posture and fortify our cybersecurity defences.”

Cynerio’s platform is designed to continuously monitor, detect and mitigate cyber security threats to medical and Internet of Things (IoT) devices within healthcare environments to provide a strong defence against emerging cyber risks that the NHS is facing.

Darren Bailey, head of sales at Cynerio, said: “We are extremely proud to have been chosen by Cheshire and Merseyside to defend all the care facilities in the ICS.

“Adopting best of breed technologies like Cynerio to be deployed at scale will allow them to continue to be a leader and innovator in the NHS.”

Market analysis published by Digital Health Intelligence in June 2024 listed Cynerio as one of three leading NHS suppliers of `

Meanwhile, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said that the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, to be introduced to Parliament in 2025, will improve UK cyber defences and protect public services, preventing attacks similar to the ransomware attack on Synnovis in June 2024.

In a statement published on 30 September 2024, the DSIT said: “This Bill will fill an immediate gap in our defences and prevent similar attacks experienced by critical public services in the UK, such as the recent ransomware attack impacting London hospitals.”

“Our laws have not kept pace with technological change, so we need to take swift action to address vulnerabilities and protect our digital economy to deliver growth.

“The Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure critical infrastructure and the digital services companies rely on are secure,” DSIT added.