Record number of cyber incidents mitigated amid vaccine rollout

The National Cyber Security Centre provided unprecedented support over the past year to organisations, including those on the front line of the pandemic response and vaccine rollout.

The NCSC’s annual review highlights how the GCHQ organisation expanded its online defence of the UK by managing an unprecedented 777 incidents over the last twelve months – up from 723 the previous year – with around 20 per cent of organisations supported linked to the health sector and vaccines.

The health sector and in particular the vaccine rollout was a major focus for the NCSC, with the organisation’s world-leading services protecting NHS, healthcare, and vaccine supplier IT systems from malicious domains billions of times.

To help protect the healthcare sector, the NCSC extended the Protective Domain Name System (PDNS) service to over 1,000 additional organisations within the Health and Social Care sector to support of vaccine development and supply chain organisations. This extension represented protection of an additional three million employees in the sector, from essential workers providing and supporting front line care to those working to develop and deliver vaccines to citizens across the country.

Over the last year the NCSC also responded to a rise in ransomware attacks, and a range of services have been provided to businesses over the past year to help protect them from ransomware. These include the Early Warning Service alerting organisations to emerging threats through to cyber security advice for those working in education.

These efforts have come against a backdrop of responding to significant global incidents, including the attack on the SolarWinds IT management platform by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service – one of the most serious cyber intrusions of recent times – and a major ransomware attack on the American software firm Kaseya.

Lindy Cameron, CEO of the NCSC, said: “I’m proud of the way the NCSC has responded to what has been another hugely challenging year for the country as we all continue to navigate our way through the pandemic. The support and expertise we have provided for stakeholders from government all the way through to the general public during the pandemic has been vital to keeping the country safe online.

“Undoubtedly there are challenges ahead, but the upcoming National Cyber Strategy combined with the continued engagement from businesses and the public provides a solid foundation for us to continue reducing the impact of online threats.”