7,000 attacks a month

N H S Ta y s i d e fights off as many as 7,000 cyberattacks from malicious hackers every month, it has been found.

Data obtained by the Scottish Conservatives unearthed the figure, but the health board declined to provide details of whether any hacks had been successful.

At least 114 breaches of IT systems have been logged by Scottish health boards since 2014.

Scottish Tory chief whip Maurice Golden said: “These revelations show even Scotland’s NHS isn’t safe from global hackers.

“Thankfully, it seems our health service is wellequipped to repel these attacks, and that’s a tribute to the IT teams working hard to keep our personal information safe.”

NHS Tayside said: “It is not possible for NHS Tayside t o give exact figures for attempted attacks over the period but our security products successfully detect and remove around 5,0007,000 attempts a month.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “NHS Tayside has strict procedures in place for d e a l i n g wi t h p e s t c o n t r o l problems and all reports of a potential pest sighting are dealt with as a matter of urgency.

“Whenever a member of staff identifies any type of problem, no matter how small, our pest control contractors are called in straight away.

“All reports are dealt with as a matter of urgency to ensure there is no escalation of any problem and i ncidents are resolved quickly and effectively.

“This ensures there is little or no impact on clinical services.

“It is important to note that our records show what is reported to the pest control company at the time of call-out and not necessarily what is found when they attend the site.”

Meanwhile, officers have been called out to schools in Dundee 56 times since January 1 this year, with 23 schools needing the service.

The school with the most incidents in Dundee was Braeview Academy, with seven call outs to deal with issues including, wasps, mice, ants and pigeons.

Ballumbie Primary was the second-highest with six call outs. Issues included bird-proofing, ants, mice and pigeons.