Following a press statement from NHS Dumfries and Galloway confirming that clinical data relating to patients has been published by a recognised ransomware group, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has called for the NHS and Scottish Government to be more open about the scale of the threat to patient and staff data.

Colin Smyth said, “The public shouldn’t need to read about these threats on the internet. The NHS and Scottish Government should have been more open about the fact there was a clear attempt at extortion taking place, as everyone expected was the motive behind this cyber-attack on NHS Dumfries and Galloway

“Since I raised this issue in Parliament with the Health Secretary I have had no update whatsoever . More importantly patients and staff have been left in the dark and that’s unacceptable.

“NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Government say they have contacted the small number of people whose data has been published but they need to say now whether they are confident that everyone effected by the cyber-attack has been contacted or, as seems likely, there is a possibility that far more data has been stolen but not yet published.”