Thousands of hacking attempts have been targeted at Scotland’s NHS computer systems in the past five years, including a successful bid from North Korea.
Health boards were successfully infiltrated on 117 occasions and the Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the figures through Freedom of Information, said it was unclear what impact the attacks have had.
In one instance, NHS Borders said an attempt from North Korea was made successfully in 2017.
Scotland’s health boards outlined thousands of hack attempts from a variety of sources since 2014, including criminals and foreign powers.
Hospitals, health centres and GP surgeries were among the victims, although it is not thought patient care has ever been affected.
NHS Fife fell victim to 47 successful hacks, while NHS Lanarkshire were forced to contact police over some of the 62 attacks it experienced.
In the Western Isles, the infamous Locky malware got behind defences at the Western Isles hospital.
And the Wannacry global attacks – which demands ransom payments in Bitcoin – also impacted health boards across the country.
Health boards pointed out their systems thwarted thousands of virus every day, and back-up systems appear to have ensured no sensitive data has been lost or compromised.
Scottish Conservative chief whip Maurice Golden said: “These revelations show even Scotland’s NHS isn’t safe from global hackers.
“Patients will be alarmed that their sensitive data is being pursued by North Korean hackers.
“Thankfully, it seems our health service is well-equipped to repel these attacks, and that’s a tribute to the IT teams working hard to keep our personal information safe.
“But there’s no room for complacency and hackers across the world are getting better all the time at attacking these systems.”
The FOI figures reveal 117 successful hacks of NHS systems since 2014. The Scottish Conservatives say the true number is likely to be even higher as some health board didn’t hold the necessary data.
A spokesman for NHS Grampian said: “There have been no successful hacking attempts on NHS Grampian’s system since 2014.
“There was one instance where malware, Wannacry Ransomware, was discovered on one server and five PCs in 2017.
“This was quickly dealt with without any data loss and no patient or staff records were accessed or compromised.”
The successful attempts occurred in:
NHS Borders – 1
NHS Fife – 47
NHS Grampian – 1
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – 1
NHS Lanarkshire – 62
NHS Western Isles – 5
