Cyber Security Awareness Month 2026

As the NHS transforms from analogue to digital, cyber security has never been more important. Cyber-attacks can disrupt services and affect patient care. Protecting against cyber threats is essential to delivering safe, effective care for everyone who relies on NHS services.

Cyber Security Awareness Month reminds us that keeping the NHS safe is everyone’s responsibility. Every decision, click and conversation can make a difference. The actions we take every day help protect patients, services and data. From boardroom to bedside, and everywhere in between, we all play a part in building a secure and resilient NHS

Why this matters

Cyber criminals target healthcare because of the sensitive data we hold and the critical services we provide. Recent attacks on major retailers such as M&S, Co-op and Harrods have shown how quickly organisations can be disrupted. For the NHS, the consequences can be even greater, with cyber incidents having the potential to affect patient care, disrupt clinical services and impact organisations across the health and care system.

Recent cyber attacks have shown how disruption can spread far beyond a single organisation. The 2024 ransomware attack on pathology provider Synnovis affected multiple NHS organisations and disrupted patient services across London. Incidents involving suppliers such as Synnovis and Ortivus highlight how interconnected healthcare has become, and why strong cyber security is essential to keeping services running and protecting patients.

Our collective responsibility

As the NHS continues its transformation from analogue to digital, cyber security is everyone's responsibility - not just IT and security teams.
Stronger security powers better care. Follow these simple steps to stay safe:

• use strong passwords
• turn on multifactor authentication
• recognise and report phishing
• keep up to date with learning

Cyber threats are constantly evolving. Alongside ransomware attacks, criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create convincing scams and impersonate trusted people. By working together and following good cyber security practices every day, we can reduce cyber risk and keep NHS services safe.

Take action in your organisation

A toolkit of ready-made assets and template copy is available below to help NHS organisations run their own cyber awareness month campaign.

The Keep I.T. Confidential toolkit can also be used by any organisation at any time. It includes materials for all staff, training resources, and guidance for local use.

Together, we can build a cyber-resilient NHS that protects patients and supports our mission for a future-ready health service.

This podcast series explores current and relevant cyber security topics affecting health and care, from threat intelligence to the importance of diversity in cyber teams. Listen to our podcasts.

If you are wondering, ‘What has cyber security got to do with me?’ The answer could be to turn off the machine you are using and now try doing your job.

Cyber attacks are a patient safety issue and every person in health and adult social care has a responsibility to help protect patients and NHS data. Recognising common security threats and taking simple steps to minimise risks can help keep us safe.

During this year’s Cyber Security Awareness Month you can: 

• learn new cyber security skills
• find out how our products and services can help protect your team or organisation
• raise awareness of common security threats by running your own campaign
• become a security champion
• take a password pledge

View all training.

Raise awareness of common cyber security threats and learn how you and your team can help protect patients and data.

Download our campaign resources to help.

The campaign toolkit includes screensavers, animations, digital banners, social media content, and more.

We've created two versions of our Keep I.T. Confidential toolkit. One for health and one for adult social care to use.

Run your own campaign.

We protect healthcare systems from cyber attacks and monitor for new threats 24 hours a day.

Our cyber and data security services are available to the NHS and social care.

The Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) is part of the central security team for the NHS, protecting healthcare systems from  cyber attacks and monitoring for new threats 24 hours a day.

View all products and services.

Our Cyber Associates Network (CAN) brings together experts from across public-sector health and care.