According to documents obtained via the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, at least 65 NHS trusts have suffered a ‘successful’ ransomware attack since 2014, with 209 separate incidents reported over that same period.

New research – compiled by Comparitech – found that 34% of NHS trusts had been affected by ransomware, amounting to 4943 hours (or 206 days) of downtime. None of the trusts which disclosed information had paid the ransom.

Predictably, 2017 saw a significant spike in ransomware due to the much publicised WannaCry attack in May of that year. In total, 48% of the attacks investigated by Comparitech took place in 2017, followed by 22% in 2016, 21% in 2015 and around 3% in 2014, 2018 and 2019.