Optima Energy, a provider of software for utility data companies, has welcomed recent insight from Parliament Street – a UK based think-tank – that there has been an increase in spending on cyber security by NHS trusts. However, it insists, more needs to be done to ‘shore up’ the NHS’s data-defences.
Commenting on the statistics, which were acquired by Parliament Street via a Freedom of Information request, Optima Energy’s Business Development Director Steve Kemp believes that that the current investment levels of £612,000+ in 2018/19, may still not be enough to protect the NHS’s systems.
He commented: “More needs to be done to protect the NHS from cyber violations - particularly in terms of energy data. We believe the security of energy management software is often overlooked. This needs to be remedied, the threat of substantial fines for data breaches means the NHS is at risk and should review its IT and database security as an absolute priority.
“The value of energy-related data is considerable and hackers are creative and always trying to find innovative ways to infiltrate systems. Whilst the Government has announced an additional £1.8 million funding, which will be partly used to further bolster IT security, training and equipment, it is a drop in the ocean.”
Mr Kemp stressed the importance of making sure energy data systems are robust and secure - particularly in the NHS, which has already seen data violations, adding: “The number of online threats is growing all the time, but by investing in secure energy management software NHS trusts can enjoy peace of mind in at least one major area of their operations whilst driving efficiency across the health service.”
Optima has been developing advanced software for managing and analysing energy data for some of the largest energy users and consultants in the UK for more than 30 years.
