Written question WQ86639

Welsh Government and NHS Wales work jointly on projects within the NHS Counter Fraud Authority regarding common areas of national concern. Its Action Plan, last updated October 2022, identifies key risks and the actions required for their mitigation and/or eradication – one particular focus, recently, has been on reducing the risk of procurement fraud. Such work is further supported by NHS Wales bodies also undertaking individual risk assessments.

Cyber fraud elements such as phishing attacks continues to be one of the key cyber resilience risks facing NHS Wales. As part of implementing the Security of Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 Welsh Government has funded the NHS Wales Cyber Resilience Unit, hosted in Digital Health and Care Wales, which assesses the cyber posture of NHS Wales organisations and works with them on remediation plans. Guidance has been provided to NHS Wales on cyber resilience and information systems to support them, e-learning training is being rolled out to all staff to support their understanding of the risks posed by cyber fraud. Additionally, Digital Health and Care Wales work closely with the UK wide National Cyber Security Centre on technical solutions to further increase resilience to cyber attacks.