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The U.K. National Health Service acknowledged a data breach after sensitive transplant patient information was routinely transmitted over an unencrypted pager network, according to a BBC investigation. The exposed data reportedly included patient names, dates of birth, and details about organs being offered or needed, creating a risk that highly sensitive medical information could be intercepted during transmission.
The disclosure highlights the NHS's continued reliance on obsolete pager technology despite prior direction to phase out the devices by 2021. Reporting attributed the persistence of pager use to underinvestment in healthcare IT infrastructure, and the incident appears to stem from insecure handling of patient data rather than malware, ransomware, or another external network intrusion.
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The NHS had been directed to stop using pagers altogether by 2021. The later reporting indicates the organization did not fully meet that deadline.
DataBreaches previously reported that NHS pagers were leaking medical data in a post titled "UK: NHS pagers are leaking medical data." This establishes earlier public reporting on the insecure use of pagers for sensitive health information.
The U.K. National Health Service admitted a data breach involving patients' personal information being sent over pager devices. The affected individuals included transplant patients whose sensitive medical details were exposed through the pager system.
A BBC investigation found that sensitive transplant patient data was routinely transmitted over an unencrypted pager network, including names, dates of birth, and details about organs being offered or needed. The finding revealed insecure handling of sensitive NHS patient information.
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Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust apologized after a public inquiry found survivors of the 2023 Nottingham attacks were not properly included when the trust investigated unauthorized access to their medical records. The inquiry said staff inappropriately viewed victims’ records without authorization, and a 2025 internal investigation uncovered broader misuse of sensitive patient information. The trust said its response initially focused too narrowly on bereaved families, while disciplinary action resulted in 11 employees being dismissed and several others receiving written warnings for serious data protection violations. Separately, the fallout from the 2024 Synnovis ransomware attack linked to the **Qilin** gang continues to widen across the NHS, with Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust confirming about **2,380** specialist diagnostic testing records were affected after Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust disclosed nearly **33,000** impacted records. The attack disrupted pathology services across south east London, causing canceled appointments, delayed operations, and blood testing and transfusion problems, while stolen patient data was later published online after extortion failed. NHS organizations are still identifying affected patients, and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has said service delays caused by the outage contributed to a patient’s death.
Jun 29, 2026
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said data relating to **32,927 patients** was identified in material stolen during the **Synnovis ransomware attack**, confirming that the incident extended beyond service disruption into a significant patient data breach. The compromised information was linked to pathology-related files dating from **2011 to 2020** and may include personal details and diagnostic test results. The trust issued a public notification tied to the Synnovis cyber incident and began informing affected individuals after determining that their records were present in data later published on dark web sites. The organizations involved said notification was delayed because the stolen material was fragmented across unstructured administrative pathology files, requiring lengthy forensic analysis to attribute ownership and assess impact. Security experts said the case highlights the long-tail risk of third-party attacks in NHS supply chains, warning that even partial or disjointed healthcare records can be combined by threat actors for phishing, fraud, and other identity-related abuse.
Jun 29, 2026
Several healthcare organizations in the United States have reported significant data breaches resulting in the exposure of protected health information (PHI) for tens of thousands of patients. TriZetto Provider Solutions, a revenue management service provider, discovered unauthorized access to its web portal dating back to November 2024, with attackers accessing historical eligibility transaction reports containing sensitive patient data such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and health insurance details. The breach was detected in October 2025, after which immediate remediation steps were taken, including engaging Mandiant for investigation and securing the affected systems. Other incidents include breaches at Morton Drug Company in Wisconsin, Physicians to Children & Adolescents in Kentucky, the Center for Urologic Care of Berks County in Pennsylvania, North Atlantic States Carpenters Health Benefits Fund in Massachusetts, and Millcreek Pediatrics in Delaware. These breaches involved unauthorized network access and resulted in the exposure of PHI, including names, birth dates, medical record numbers, prescription information, and, in some cases, Social Security numbers. Affected organizations have notified impacted individuals and are offering credit monitoring services where appropriate, while also implementing enhanced security measures to prevent future incidents.
Jun 29, 2026