How a cyber attack and data breach could impact your care business

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) require organisations to implement robust defences to protect sensitive data, and this is particularly critical in the care sector.

October marks the start of Cyber Security Awareness Month, highlighting the importance of data protection, user behaviour, and processes that safeguard your care organisation. Understanding the potential impacts of a cyber attack and data breach is essential for building resilience and a security strategy that protects you in our ever-evolving digital world.

In this blog, the experts over at our Support Member, Citation, explore the main consequences of a data breach, and what you can do to reduce risk.

1. Disruption to care delivery

In the care sector, a cyber attack will directly impact service user care. As care providers foster innovative technologies to streamline and improve care delivery, managing and protecting these is crucial. An attack that prevents employees from accessing vital systems could make service user records inaccessible, leading to delays in treatment and medication errors.

2. Damage to CQC rating

One of the CQC’s Well-Led Quality Statements is ‘Governance, management and sustainability’. As part of this, providers must show that, “There are robust arrangements for the availability, integrity and confidentiality of data, records and data management systems”.  If you can’t show that you’re managing this properly or effectively, it will have a negative impact on your score for Well-Led and therefore your overall CQC rating.

3. Loss of highly sensitive data

The care sector holds extremely sensitive personal data, and this makes care organisations prime targets for cyber criminals. A successful breach can jeopardise service users’ and employees’ safety and privacy. Cyber criminals gaining access to sensitive information may lead to this being leaked on the data web, regardless of any negotiations or available backups.

4. Legal ramifications

All businesses must comply with the GDPR and DPA, even care providers. Following a breach, if the care organisation was found to be incompliant, this could lead to severe legal consequences. The GDPR states that care organisations must implement appropriate measures to effectively protect data, and failure to do so can result in fines of up to £20 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.

5. Reputational damage

A cyber breach can also harm a care provider’s reputation, impacting the relationship and trust with service users, suppliers, and key stakeholders. Even with a successful recovery, the reputational damage can be long-lasting, affecting both current and future opportunities.

Strengthen your care organisation’s resilience this Cyber Security Awareness Month with Citation’s ongoing cyber security support. Through testing, training, and certification services, you can minimise data breaches, upskill your workforce, and remain compliant. Beyond cyber security, they provide HR, Health & Safety, and Regulatory Compliance Support to help your care business reach even higher standards.

For more information and to get your free quote, click here – let us know if you’re a Care England member to benefit from preferential rates!