Data security has been an increasingly important topic for businesses and individuals alike. Today’s technological landscape necessitates the provision and collection of copious amounts of data relating to every aspect of life, making it virtually impossible not to leave some form of digital footprint.
Despite strict laws and regulations governing the usage and storage of our data, however, concerns remain. Headlines in the past few years have routinely featured stories about massive data breaches and broad-scale hacking events, with millions of people’s information made vulnerable. Here are some of the biggest stories and some lessons learned:
The NHS has been the target of repeated cyberattacks over the past couple of decades. In 2012, more than 1.8 million people’s health and employee records were breached, affecting 16 entities in London, Belfast, Surrey, Brighton and Sussex, and Devon. Fines were issued worth over £10 million for errors identified in the lead-up to the breach.
The NHS was affected again in 2022, when a breach of data held by its IT and software partner, Advanced Computer Software Group, put personal information of almost 80,000 people at risk. A further incident in 2024 involved pathology service provider, Synnovis, who fell victim to a ransomware attack, although this resulted mostly in only appointment delays for NHS users.
The records of 9 million customers were breached in what was described as a ‘highly sophisticated attack’. Credit card details for more than 2,000 people were unlawfully accessed, with more than 50 reported cases of credit card fraud stemming from the incident in the months that followed.
The independent elections watchdog in the UK was the victim of a cyberattack that compromised electoral register information – including names, addresses, dates of birth, and email addresses – collected between 2014 and 2022. The political sensitivity of the information accessed was a particular concern when the breach was discovered in October 2022 (more than a month after the hacking first occurred).
Outside the national headlines, 43% of UK businesses participating in a 2025 survey reported a cybersecurity breach in the previous year, equating to more than 600,000 companies. The good news is that this represented a small decline compared to 2024, when 50% reported a breach. This demonstrated the progress that has been made in protecting data from malicious programmes and hackers.
Guidance for businesses – designed either for small to medium-sized and large organisations – is available from the National Cyber Security Centre. Downloadable toolkits provide advice and recommendations for data security audits, storage, and device security, with information on how to avoid phishing emails or texts.
Of course, this is just the beginning, but these are important steps to lay the foundation for the safety of customer or patient data. There is a wealth of specific support available for anyone who wants to know more about strengthening their cyber security.
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