NHS patients’ DNA data is targeted by foreign hackers

FOREIGN hackers have attempted to access the genetic blueprints of thousands of NHS patients, officials have said as they reveal data is being guarded at a high-security military base.

Leaders of Genomics England said yesterday they had fought off multiple cyber attacks on a flagship project to map the genes of a million people.

The new service aims to transform the chances of patients with cancer and rare diseases by comparing their genomes – the complete set of genetic material – against a growing library of others. It will enable doctors to better predict what treatments will work.

However, experts have cautioned that, in the wrong hands, such information is now more valuable than financial data.

The warning follows the Wannacry attack on the NHS in 2017, which disrupted more than a third of the health service for days and cost at least £92 million. Hospitals were subsequently criticised for failing to update their security software.

Genomics England revealed yesterday that security concerns meant patients’ genetic data is being stored at MOD Corsham, in Wiltshire, home to the Joint Forces Command’s information systems and services unit.

Sir John Chisholm, chairman of Genomics England, said: “None of the well-known viral attacks have succeeded in causing any dysfunction in Genomics England.”

The body announced yesterday that it has sequenced genomes from 85,000 patients.