NHS Digital releases cyber security materials for social care organisations

NHS Digital’s Keep I.T. Confidential campaign has updated to help support social care organisations improve security culture within their care settings.

The free resources have been developed in partnership with Digital Social Care and are specifically designed to be used by social care organisations to help boost staff knowledge of cyber security concerns such as phishing, data sharing, unlocked screens and weak passwords.

The assets included in the toolkit are screensavers, web banners, social media graphics and suggested copy for bulletins and newsletters. The materials are relevant across all types of adult social care including nursing homes and supported living.

Mike Fell, executive director of cyber operations at NHS Digital, said: “Good security practices are our shared responsibility and being cyber aware can significantly reduce the chance of cyber events affecting people’s care.

“We know how busy staff are, but we encourage everyone to prioritise cyber hygiene as much as they can to protect the NHS and social care against vulnerabilities.

“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.”

Keep I.T. Confidential was first launched in 2019 to clinical staff in healthcare organisations and has now been updated to tackle some of the challenges that the social care sector faces. The latest updates are the first since new advice and information was added in October 2021, to protect NHS staff from cyber attacks.

Michelle Corrigan, programme director of Better Security, Better Care, said: “The Better Security, Better Care programme welcomes the strong messages for social care providers and their staff in the Keep I.T. Confidential campaign. Protecting people’s data is really a safeguarding issue as we all store and share more and more information digitally.

“Our sector is making good progress, with increasing numbers of care providers demonstrating that they have good data and cyber security arrangements in place, by using the official Data Security and Protection Toolkit. But there is definitely room for improvement.

“The Keep I.T. Confidential campaign provides valuable, clear advice for care staff and we encourage everyone to share these messages widely.”