Oxfordshire County Council

05/21/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/22/2024 00:59

NRS Healthcare data breach

Oxfordshire County Council has been notified that NRS Healthcare, one of our suppliers of health and care products, has suffered a cyber-attack and personal data has been breached.

Impact on our clients

We are working with NRS Healthcare to understand the extent of the breach and will contact our affected clients directly if their information has been taken. We have also informed the Information Commissioners Office and will work with them on any further steps we need to take.

Safety advice

We are asking everyone to be extra-cautious when opening emails and not to click on any links or documents unless they are sure they are genuine. People should also be extra-vigilant about text messages, phone calls and home visits from people, especially those they are not expecting.

There is a full range of guidance and support on reporting scams on the National Cyber Security Centre website, including ways to report a suspicious email, text message or phone call.

Additional Information

  • What information has been 'taken'?

At this time, it is not clear what personal data has been taken in this incident. As we receive more information we will contact anyone directly if their information has been put at risk.

  • Who are NRS Healthcare and what services do they provide?

NRS Healthcare is one of the largest providers of aids to daily living, medical devices, therapy equipment, wheelchairs, continence products and technology enabled care to adults and children who are social care clients and/or in receipt of healthcare services.

  • When did this data breach happen?

We were made aware of the cyber-incident reported by NRS Healthcare on 2 April 2024. On 7 May, NRS Healthcare told us that data had been taken during this attack.

  • What action did you take when you heard about the data breach?

A soon as we heard we spoke to NRS to get information about what happened and the potential impact on client data in Oxfordshire.

  • What action are you taking now?

We are working very closely with NRS Healthcare to understand the extent of the cyber incident. NRS Healthcare have engaged IT and cyber security experts to investigate this incident and identify any information which may have been compromised by the cyber-attack.

NRS Healthcare have also notified, and are working with, the Information Commissioner's Office, the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency to manage this incident and have already taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of their computer systems.

If this data breach has a negative impact on anyone in Oxfordshire, we will contact them directly and will be putting in place full support for everyone involved.

Are we the only Council affected?

  • It is likely that many local authorities and parts of the NHS across the country will be impacted by this.