AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/cases/synnovis

Synnovis NHS cyber attack

In June 2024 criminals locked the computer systems of the lab that runs blood tests for two of London's biggest hospital trusts. More than 10,000 appointments were postponed, and a long wait for a blood test result contributed to one patient's death.

Updated 12 October 2026 (2 minute read)

AutonomyNon maleficenceJustice
  1. Ransomware locks the Synnovis lab systems
  2. 400GB of stolen data published
  3. Hospital confirms the delays contributed to a death
  4. Government plans a ban on ransom payments
  5. Affected patients finally identified

Summary

Blood samples being loaded into a laboratory analyser

Dig deeper

  • In June 2025 King's College Hospital confirmed that a patient had died unexpectedly during the attack. A long wait for a blood test result was one of the contributing factors.
  • The attack cost Synnovis an estimated £32.7m in 2024.
  • Working out whose data had been stolen took until November 2025, 17 months after the attack.
  • In July 2025 the government said it would ban public bodies, including the NHS, from paying ransoms.
  • A new law on cyber security for companies that supply public services is still going through Parliament.
  • The NHS had been through this before. In 2017 an attack called WannaCry disrupted about a third of NHS trusts in England.
  • Trust in outside suppliers holding patient data came up again in 2026 with Palantir and the NHS data platform.

Ethical issues

PrincipleHow it applies here
AutonomyPatients decide who sees their medical information, and they share it on the understanding that it stays private. Here it was held by a supplier most patients had never heard of, and it ended up on the internet.
Non maleficenceNobody was physically attacked, yet operations were cancelled and a late blood result contributed to a death. A hospital that cannot run its computers cannot treat patients safely.
JusticePaying a ransom might help the patients waiting today. It also funds the next attack on another hospital, which is why the government has chosen a ban for public bodies.

Interview questions

  • What happened in the Synnovis cyber attack?
  • Systems are down and patients may die while you wait. Should a hospital ever pay the ransom?
  • A patient asks whether their test results were in the stolen data, and you do not know. What do you say?
  • Why is patient confidentiality so important in medicine?
  • The NHS wants to move from paper to digital records. What are the risks and benefits?
  • Who is responsible when a private supplier to the NHS is attacked?
  • How could a hospital prepare for losing its computer systems?

Sources

  1. NHS Englandengland.nhs.uk/…/synnovis-cyber-incident
  2. theregister.comtheregister.com/…/synnovis_qilin_investigation
  3. NHS Englandengland.nhs.uk/…/almost-all-services-back-on-track-after-cyber-attack-hit-sou
  4. NHS Englandengland.nhs.uk/…/latest-media-statement-on-synnovis-cyber-attack
  5. Infosecurity Magazineinfosecurity-magazine.com/…/synnovis-publish-nhs-patient-data
  6. The Recordtherecord.media/…/ransomware-attack-contributed-patient-death-uk-nhs
  7. Digital Healthdigitalhealth.net/…/cyber-attack-cost-synnovis-estimated-32-7m-in-2024
  8. King's College Hospitalkch.nhs.uk/…/synnovis-cyber-attack-update
  9. theregister.comtheregister.com/…/uk_to_ban_ransomware_payments
  10. National Audit Officenao.org.uk/…/investigation-wannacry-cyber-attack-and-the-nhs

Photo: Goleisureintl, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, colour altered.

Practise answering these with a mentor

Our interview preparation has you answer questions like these out loud, with feedback on each answer.

See interview preparation Book a free consultation

alphamedicine.uk/Services · alphamedicine.uk/Contact

Related

Palantir and the NHS data platform AutonomyNon maleficenceJustice NHS England is paying a group led by Palantir, a US technology company, up to £330m for software that joins up hospital data. The BMA and two committees of MPs want the NHS to drop the company, and more than 44,000 people have filed legal objections. A decision on whether to keep it is due by December 2026. ADHD and autism overdiagnosis debate AutonomyNon maleficenceJustice Far more people in England are diagnosed with ADHD and autism than 25 years ago. People disagree over whether ordinary difficulties are being given medical labels, or people who were missed for years are at last being recognised. A government review reported on 9 October 2026 that it could not show overdiagnosis on a large scale, partly because the data are out of date. It wants help to be given on need, without waiting for a diagnosis. Corridor care in NHS hospitals AutonomyNon maleficenceJustice Corridor care means looking after patients in corridors, waiting rooms and other parts of a hospital never built for it, because every bed is full. The government and NHS England both call it unacceptable. NHS England still counted about 3,300 patients a day in September 2026.

More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.