This week the UK’s social care sector received a boost after NHS Digital released new materials designed to enhance staff cybersecurity awareness. The materials hope to raise awareness of critical threats and risks.
The programme was developed in partnership with Digital Social Care, the materials are part of the NHS “Keep IT Confidential” campaign. The campaign covers key areas such as password management, phishing, secure data sharing, the risks of unlocked phone screens, and data protection best practices.
The advice will be simple on each topic area and the materials include screensavers, social media graphics, web banners and suggested copy for newsletters.
Mike Fell, NHS Digital’s executive director of cyber operations, urged for all social care workers to prioritise cyber-hygiene.
Fell said, “good security practices are our shared responsibility and being cyber aware can significantly reduce the chance of cyber events affecting people’s care… Taking small, simple steps and considering security in your day-to-day work can make a huge difference and we hope this campaign can really drive that change.”
Given that the healthcare sector is among one of the most likely to hold onto personal data regarding customers, it is a particularly attractive target for cyber-criminals.
It has been suggested by Michelle Corrigan, programme director at Better Security, Better Care, that adopting the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit is an important first step for the sector. The toolkit comprises of an online self-assessment form that allows organisations to evaluate themselves against the National Data Guardian’s 10 data security standards.
Corrigan said, “Protecting people’s data is really a safeguarding issue as we all store and share more and more information digitally.”
