The British National Health Service (NHS) today announced it will switch to Windows 10. With Microsoft's latest operating system, the NHS hopes to be better protected against cyber threats.
“The deal with Microsoft will ensure all health and care organizations are using the latest Windows 10 software with up-to-date security settings to help prevent cyber attacks,” according to the public health service.
Since 2017, the British government has invested £60 million for better protection against cyber threats and the coming 3 years it will spend another £150 million. Part of the money will be spent on a new digital security operations center which will allow the NHS to respond to better respond to cyber attacks.
Another £21 million will be spent on upgrading firewalls and network infrastructure at critical health care locations, such as major trauma center hospitals and ambulance trusts. Also, a new message system is planned. This “text messaging alert system” should ensure communication is still possible when the internet is down.
The extra protection comes after last year's WannaCry ransomware outbreak, which hit several British hospitals which caused nearly 7,000 hospital appointments to be canceled. WannaCry could easily spread because on many computers the latest security updates weren't installed.
