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That was the fallout after hackers targeted the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) in June, in one of the largest ransomware attacks of its kind in Britain.

The attackers demanded £40 million after hacking Synnovis, a pathology services provider for the NHS, and when the ransom wasn’t paid, they leaked 400 GB of highly sensitive data into the dark web, including personally identifying information and test results for cancer, HIV and other conditions. 

Perhaps even more concerning, this attack is not an isolated incident – it’s part of a clear trend marked by increasingly frequent, targeted and aggressive ransomware attacks over the past few years. 

Howden experts analysed multiple data sources and found evidence that ransomware is changing. 

Frequency is up and recovery costs are rising – although the fall in the number of victims paying ransoms underscores increased resilience globally and means insured companies are typically less susceptible to prolonged disruption today than they were three or four years ago.

These findings are from our latest, in-depth analysis of the ransomware landscape in the 2024 Cyber report: Risk, resilience