Improving Adult Social Care Cyber Resilience in the South West

The Adult Social Care (ASC) sector is currently facing significant challenges in cyber resilience amidst a rapid increase in digital technology adoption over the past 5-years. Despite advancements from initiatives like the Department of Health and Social Care-funded Better Security, Better Care (BSBC) programme, a significant cyber skills gap remains.

The workforce is predominantly female (81%), with many employees from ethnic minority backgrounds (26%), but the sector struggles with low income, limited training access, and high staff turnover, which collectively undermine its cybersecurity capabilities.?

The sector is primarily composed of small and medium-sized enterprises and experiences operational pressures and funding cuts from local authorities, leading to historically low profitability. With only 4% of providers employing over 250 staff, the influence of even the most cyber-aware organisations on sector-wide security is limited. This situation is exacerbated by a report indicating that many providers feel underprepared for the scale of cyber threats they face, particularly from hostile state actors.?

As part of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)-funded BSBC programme, we have been actively working to increase the adoption of the NHS England Data Security & Protection Toolkit (DSPT), improving uptake from 13% in 2021 to 76% by 2024\.

In the Southwest region there are 3073 care provider sites with 96921 people in receipt of care and 174000 staff. The DSPT uptake of this region is 73% which shows engagement with cyber security. Our project aims to build on this and bridge the cybersecurity skills gap by upskilling the diverse ASC workforce, which is often excluded from cybersecurity roles.

We recognise that current efforts, such as our free basic cybersecurity eLearning course, only provide foundational knowledge and do not equip providers with the deeper skills necessary to navigate complex threats. The project will provide a series of webinars, a gamified cyber security tool, an in-depth tabletop exercise and low-level penetration test in care facilities.

Given the increasing integration of ASC with NHS systems, the urgency for enhanced cyber resilience is critical. The proposed initiative will expand the role of local care associations in Southwest, enabling them to lead comprehensive cyber resilience programmes. This includes training them to conduct in-depth simulations and testing, enhancing their ability to assess and improve cybersecurity measures.?

This initiative seeks to enhance the resilience of the ASC sector, protect vulnerable individuals from cyber threats, and support the integration of ASC with the broader healthcare ecosystem.