Orthus Reveals Over 50% Of NHS WIFI Networks On Default Settings

Feb. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- The survey took place on foot, public transport (bus), and taxis to simulate a drive-by-hacking attack and included a wide range of hospitals, clinics and surgeries. The Orthus conducted research identified that of the 40 NHS facilities surveyed:

•   93% deployed wireless systems that were available from a distance of 50 meters or more from the building
•   35% deployed systems identifying the name of the network owner (targeting information)
•   18% deployed systems encrypting their traffic
•   53% deployed systems on original “default” settings
•   68% deployed systems that allowed automatic internet access

Richard Hollis, Managing Director of  Orthus Limited said "The results of this survey are truly startling. 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."

“Perhaps even more unsettling, says Hollis, is the evidence that almost half of the NHS Trust wireless system administrators are not even changing the default settings for these systems prior to implementing them. As any hacker or cracker knows, “default” settings mean default passwords and default passwords (to include WEP) are listed for all 802.11b system manufacturers on the Internet”. (http://www.orthusintel.com)

For more information or a copy of the survey entitled: “Physician Heal Thyself” contact cathy.jacobs@orthus.com

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Orthus is a leading provider of Information Security, Business Continuity, and Data Compliance services, with over 100,000 supported systems globally. Orthus provides a range of simple packaged solutions to identify, minimise and manage security, compliance and business continuity gaps before incidents escalate.
These services are delivered by Orthus resilient infrastructure and supported by expert consultants backed up by unsurpassed service level guarantees and full cost coverage for data breaches, compliance failures and downtime. This ensures incidents are caught before they become major problems and customers can continue with Business as Usual, Guaranteed at a low predicable cost. For more information, please visit http://www.orthusintel.com