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An international group of nearly 400 volunteers with expertise in cybersecurity formed on Wednesday to fight hacking related to the novel coronavirus.
Called the COVID-19 CTI League, for cyber threat intelligence, the group spans more than 40 countries and includes professionals in senior positions at such major companies as Microsoft and Amazon.
One of four initial managers of the effort, Marc Rogers, said the top priority would be working to combat hacks against medical facilities and other frontline responders to the pandemic. It is already working on hacks of health organizations.
Also key is the defence of communication networks and services that have become essential as more people work from home, said Rogers, head of security at the long-running hacking conference Def Con and a vice president at security company Okta.
Read more: Cybersecurity experts come together to fight coronavirus-related hacking
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The government is looking for businesses who can support in the supply of ventilators and ventilator components across the UK as part of our response to COVID-19.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is looking for organisations who can support in the supply of ventilators and ventilator components across the United Kingdom as part of the Government's response to COVID-19.
These questions aim to identify the suitability and readiness of organisations to be involved in the initiative.
Read more: Readiness to supply ventilators and ventilator components.
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The NHS has unveiled a package of measures in the battle against coronavirus fake news – working with Google, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – to help the public get easy access to accurate NHS information and avoid myths and misinformation.
The measures include Google providing easy access to verified NHS guidance when someone searches for coronavirus. As well as helping to promote good advice, the NHS has been fighting bad advice and misinformation about the virus in the media and online, working with Twitter to suspend a false account posing as a hospital and putting out inaccurate information about the number of coronavirus cases; and publicly condemning homeopaths promoting false treatments.
The NHS is also working with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to verify or ‘blue tick’ over 800 accounts belonging to NHS organisations including hospital trusts and local commissioning groups. Following months of work, the NHS and Google will this week introduce new Knowledge Panels – prominent pop out boxes of information – as part of Google search on mobile, to ensure it provides the public in the UK with easy access to NHS information about more than 250 health conditions, including coronavirus. Both Twitter and Facebook are directing users to the NHS website if they search for coronavirus.
Read more: NHS takes action against coronavirus fake news online
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The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, has said that everyone in the NHS is passionate about the power of technology to make life better for patients and staff in healthcare and that better technology should be a strategic priority for the NHS.
He has set out the future for technology in the NHS and why, for any NHS organisation wanting to be the best it possibly can be, that rejecting the best possible technology is a mistake.
Hancock stated that tech-sceptics generally fall into 2 categories.
First, the St Augustines. The people who say ‘Lord, let’s fix the tech in the NHS, but just not yet’.
According to this group there are always more pressing priorities. More hospitals to build. More staff to recruit. According to them, tech is a luxury item, a midlife-crisis Ferrari that we don’t need and can’t afford.
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Approved digital health and care app and website developers can now integrate NHS login into their products thanks to a new toolkit launched by NHS Digital.
NHS login has been developed to give patients a single swift and secure access to their healthcare information across all approved healthcare apps and platforms, wherever they see the NHS login button. This reduces the need for multiple logins and passwords.
Providers of digital services can now integrate NHS login into their platforms through the self-service toolkit. The toolkit has been developed and tested by NHS Digital working with developers.
Currently seven services currently have NHS login fully enabled – and many more are working towards integration. Services who wish to integrate NHS login into their platforms can use the toolkit to apply for NHS login accreditation.
Read more: More patients to benefit from single secure access to healthcare apps
