National Health Service Wireless Networks Left Needing Some Treatment

June 23, 2009 - PRLog -- NHS DEPLOYING VULNERABLE WIRELESS NETWORKS

LONDON, United Kingdom, Orthus Limited today released the results of a survey of wireless networks associated with National Health Service facilities across the United Kingdom over the last year which has identified some surprising vulnerabilities.  

The survey examined forty (40) randomly selected NHS Trust facilities deploying wireless technology and discovered:

   93% of the networks were available from a distance of 50 meters or more from the facility

   35% of the networks identified the name of the network owner (targeting information)

   82% of the networks did not encrypted their traffic

   53% of the networks were deployed on “default” settings.

   68% of the networks allowed public internet access  

“The results of this survey are truly startling” said Orthus Director Sean Bennett.  “NHS Trusts deploying wireless technology seem to be doing very little to secure their systems, and their data can be potentially accessed by unauthorized personnel with very little effort.  Clearly this has significant Data Protection Act implications”.  

“It was also alarming to see that the majority of the systems allowed internet access without restriction” said Bennett. “Network administrators clearly do not understand the legal liability associated with allowing internet access to the general public. What a user does on your network is your problem” stressed Bennett.  “If a hacker uses your network to break into another network - its your problem as the owner of that attacking network.  NHS network administrators don’t seem to grasps this fundamental precept yet”.  

The research conducted over the last year and entitled “National Health Service Facilities Wireless Network Security Survey is available from Orthus www.orthus.com

About Orthus Limited
Orthus is a leading provider of innovative and independent information risk and security services and solutions. Since its foundation in 2001 Orthus has grown to become one of the leading providers of information risk security services assisting enterprises in protecting their digital information assets globally.  For more information, or for a copy of the full survey results, please contact Orthus, 1 Lyric Square, London W6 0NB. Tel: +44 (0)203 170 8955 or email info@orthus.com

# # #

Orthus is a leading provider of innovative and independent information risk management services assisting enterprises in protecting their digital information assets globally.