Biotech start-up SolasCure has announced the completion of its Series A investment round, to support the development of their wound cleaning product, Aurase®.
The Cambridge based biotech company has successfully completed its Series A raise of £15m, with funding from industry veterans, institutional venture, and strategic investors.
SolasCure is developing proprietary technology leveraging biomimicry and evidence-based medicine to empower health care professionals to treat patients with chronic wounds. Their first investigational product, Aurase®, is a hydrogel containing an enzyme cloned from medical maggots that can be used to support healthcare professionals treating patients with chronic wounds.
Speaking upon the completion of the round, Dr Sam Bakri, Founder and CEO of SolasCure said:
“We are delighted to have completed our Series A round, which will help us to move onto the clinical trial stages of product development. We are excited to be working with such knowledgeable and specialist investors, as they join us on our mission to support healthcare professionals with wound care products that significantly improve the health and wellbeing of patients with chronic wounds.”
The raise began with investment from BRAIN Biotech AG (Xetra:BNN), who are SolasCure’s largest shareholder.
Adriaan Moelker, CEO BRAIN Biotech AG, said:
“It has been an encouraging sign for all partners that SolasCure has been able to successfully close another financing round with rising pre-money valuation during the pandemic. We continue to be committed to support SolasCure on its way to market for the innovative wound debridement enzyme Aurase®.
The round was completed following investment by Seneca Partners, an investment management business based in the UK.
Speaking on their investment, Matt Currie, Investment Director at Seneca said:
“We are delighted to support SolasCure as part of this latest funding round. The team they have brought together are truly world-class, producing ground-breaking work in the wound care sector. Practitioners are crying out for a high-quality solution that can be transported, stored, and administered in an efficient and effective way, something severely lacking in the treatments available at present. We believe SolasCure’s Aurase product has the potential to become the go-to solution in this space”.
In addition to the investments from BRAIN Biotech AG and Seneca Partners, other notable investors to date include Bionova Capital, experienced entrepreneur and life sciences angel investor Jonathan Milner (founder of Abcam), strategic investor EVA Pharma, the Development Bank of Wales, as well as François Fournier (former lead of Smith & Nephew’s Advanced Wound Care division). The GS Verde Group acted as advisors to the fundraise.
London tech company, Zeal Software Solutions, has received a loan from HSBC UK to support the launch of its new software solution for the pharmaceutical industry, Medicostores.com. The app connects manufacturers, stockists, wholesalers, retailers and hospitals, to streamline supply chains within the sector.
The app will initially launch in India with the view to eventually expanding into UK markets. The funding from HSBC UK will be used to facilitate the set-up of servers, as well as financing the promotion of the app itself. The app enables a network of buyers and sellers to carry out end-to-end transactions and access details such as inventories, stock availability and the expiry dates of individual products.
Nagendra Yenugula, Director at Zeal Software Solutions, said: “India offers unique opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry, where much of the correspondence between buyers and sellers has previously been a time consuming, manual process. Medicostores.com provides a digital solution to support the supply chain at a time when demand for pharmaceutical stock has been at an all-time high.
“The funding from HSBC UK will be vital in helping us promote this new technology in order to drive sales and increase our share of the market. Following the launch in India, we aim to continue to expand the company and adapt the technology for the UK.”
Jenni Adams, Regional Director, Small Business Banking, HSBC UK added: “HSBC UK is pleased to support Zeal Software Solutions as it launches its new app this summer. The pressure on the pharmaceutical industry throughout the pandemic has meant that innovative technology and efforts to streamline distribution are all the more important.
COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of the healthcare industry and is helping healthcare organisations to adapt to the new reality and offer effective patient care. Now, virtual healthcare tools have been widely implemented to improve healthcare delivery and quality, reduce costs, increase care efficiency, and boost revenue. The Internet of Things (IoT) is just one technology that is helping to improve the quality of input information and analysis. Today a range of connected medical devices are being utilised across the healthcare industry, but these devices need to be protected to ensure patient safety.
The challenges around securing medical devices
However, this is easier said than done. Securing medical devices on clinical networks is not straightforward and is compounded by problems such as:
security updates, patches and potentially virus signatures must be properly assessed by the supplier and confirmed as safe before they can be implemented on the medical device. This can take three months from the time that a security update is released.
when security updates are released, they are retro-analysed by attackers, increasing the likelihood that exploitable vulnerabilities will become known.
the latest security mitigations not being present increases the impact of vulnerabilities, making exploitation more likely to succeed, and making detection of any exploitation more difficult.
Finding a clientless way to secure devices
NHS Trusts need to find a way to protect these devices while tackling the challenges outlined above. However most devices can’t be scanned in real-time, because if they are taken out of service this could impact patient care. Therefore, Trusts need a clientless way to secure devices, provide an overview of vulnerabilities, as well as granular device information on aspects like utilisation and segmentation.
This is one of the reasons why we partnered with Cylera, a leading IoT healthcare cybersecurity provider. Cylera’s MedCommand platform is purpose-built to solve these technological and operational challenges. The platform delivers real-time visibility, inventory, operational intelligence, risk and vulnerability analysis, risk mitigation, segmentation, and threat detection and response.
Additionally, the platform’s capability is unified through a central management console to streamline operations and provide value across multiple sites and teams.
Creating a virtual digital twin
But what is really clever is that Cylera learns the behaviour of each medical device and creates a virtual digital twin. Then it leverages industry standard and proprietary scanning technology to scan the digital twin, 24 x 7, and notify the Trust in real-time of vulnerabilities and threats, anomalous behaviour as well as outdated firmware and so much more.
Likewise, Cylera’s Patented Adaptive Data Type Analysis automatically identifies Zero Day devices and Zero Day protocols. So, if a new, never before seen type of medical device is speaking to a new, unknown protocol which is dropped onto their network, it will identify it and proactively notify the customer about the device and its physical location, reducing exposure to unknown risks from that device. And it automates the manual labour-intensive task of creating policies, reducing time to mitigate risk and improving productivity, as well as providing deep medical device utilisation analytics that can be used to optimise patient scheduling.
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
One great example of the Platform in action is Dartford and Gravesham (DGT) NHS Trust who, through Core to Cloud, chose Cylera to safeguard its medical device and IoT infrastructure. As one of the key hospital trusts in North Kent, DGT provides acute and outpatient services. DGT recognised the need to identify and secure its medical devices as a top priority. However, other more generalist solutions considered could scan networks and inventory devices, but only Cylera provided the ability to examine and quantify real-time risks to patient safety and clinical services, align with regulatory requirements, and optimise clinical workflows and devices, all in one simplified platform.
Why not join us?
If you are interested in finding out more, why not join our LinkedIn Live event: Securing what matters most: healthcare devices ensuring patient safety on 27th July at 4.00 pm BST and understand how you can better secure your connected environment. To register click here.
Mental and physical fatigue, lack of support, tricky staff logistics and shift patterns, not to mention long hours—these are just some of the challenges that NHS employees face. After a really rough year (and we’re not completely in the clear just yet), connecting NHS employees is more important than ever.
1948 was the birth year of the NHS, a historic development that brought healthcare to all in the UK. Back then—a near half-century before the digital age—all things were done with paper. Today, the NHS is in the early stages of digital transformation.
These plans and efforts to digitise are much needed in a system that, while it has seen significant progress, has much more progress still to make when it comes to connecting information and people.
For the patient, that lack of connection and technological innovation within the NHS can sometimes be a frustrating experience full of administrative hurdles, delays between appointments, and long waiting lists for tests and procedures.
For staff, the inability to connect is but one frustration of many, but it holds the key to groundbreaking changes in all the other areas of frustration. Because society’s ability to connect has come so far since the NHS’s early days, and because connection is such a crucial aspect of patient care and provider well-being, technology that connects people—from administration to GPs to nurses—is an urgent part of advancing the NHS’s technology policy and implementation.
Why Connection Matters Right Now in the NHS
Why should it matter that the NHS is connected? Because staff connection is linked to everything from patient outcomes to productivity and profits.
As one NHS director put it, “If people feel happier at work then this is linked to productivity. They will pay more attention to their tasks in their jobs, which trickles down into patient outcomes: patients are happier, they go home earlier and they are happier with the care they are given.”
Many measures of staff satisfaction have improved. The most recent NHS Staff Survey conducted late in the pandemic found that staff in general are proud to work for the NHS. On the other hand, two important metrics had declined. Results showed that:
Team working had declined.
Well-being scores were lower for those who worked on a COVID-19 ward or area.
Well-being scores were also much lower for those who have been shielding.
The decline in these three areas specifically show a need for more robust opportunities to connect, and in this time of all things digital, a digital- and mobile-first approach could be the answer those in the NHS need to increase those key touchpoints.
Creating Connections with technology
One way to facilitate much-needed connections via technology is through the use of employee communications technology. In thinking about the requirements an app or other new technology must fill, here are a few guidelines:
New technology must be inclusive
Stakeholders from a variety of areas and levels need to be included in selecting and rolling out new technology intended for engagement and connection—not just CEOs and members of the executive group.
When selecting an employee communications technology platform, it’s also a good idea to account for diversity and health inequalities. Make sure no one is forgotten—that defeats the point of making sure people in every role feel valued.
Set everyone up for success with proper training.
It’s critical that everyone receives in-depth training in how to leverage your new technology tools. Digital literacy doesn’t come naturally, so support all staff in the effort by training, and even appointing training leaders to educate groups on how to use it.
Only when people feel fluent will they recognise the efficiency and time-saving the new technology affords them.
Help people find each other and share with each other.
Connection can’t happen if people don’t know how to get in touch. Technology can bring people together in both logistical and social ways. For example, people directories and shared rotas make managing or swapping shifts easier. Likewise for making teamwork (one of the pain points made clear in this year’s survey) more viable.
Consider incorporating features such as social walls for posting photos and fun messages, or for sharing everything from canteen menus to big departmental accomplishments.
Think holistically about support.
What needs do staff members at all levels have with regards to support? Certainly they need to hear from upper management, and can feel supported in their roles when it’s easy to find resources (such as company policies or training modules) they need.
But other types of support, particularly around physical, mental, and emotional well-being, have grown ever more important as we wade through the COVID-19 crisis. Technology can help bridge the gap left by not being able to be within close proximity to colleagues, and can provide much-needed support via planning of well-being events and offering mental health resources.
With the right technology in pace, NHS staff members at all levels can forge new connections, work more efficiently with one another, and feel more supported.
On the frontline of the pandemic, perhaps no industry was impacted and forced to innovate and transform as quickly as healthcare in 2020. Whether it was the rapid development of COVID-19 testing technology or the explosion of telehealth, healthcare organisations accelerated digital transformation in record time. But with these innovations came new and unprecedented security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals quickly looked to exploit and profit from.
Healthcare in Crisis: A Look Back at 2020
To help understand the state of healthcare cybersecurity, we took a look back at 2020 and found that there were 239.4 million attempted cyberattacks targeting VMware Security Business Unit healthcare customers. We also found an average of 816 attempted attacks per endpoint in 2020, a staggering 9,851% increase from 2019. The surge in attacks began as early as February just as the pandemic started to spread worldwide. From January to February, the number of attempted attacks shot up by 51% as cybercriminals set their sights on vulnerable healthcare organisations that were navigating tremendous changes in the way they operate and treat patients.
In the latter half of the year, we saw the attempted attacks per endpoint peak with an 87% increase from September to October. The timing of this significant spike corresponds with the October alert from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which warned of increased cyberattacks by a Ryuk ransomware gang specifically targeting healthcare organisations.
“Amid the pandemic, cybercriminals now have limitless attack methods,” said Rick McElroy, Principal Cybersecurity Strategist at VMware Security Business Unit. “Whether it is using tried and true malware like EMOTET or using BitLocker to ransom systems, malicious actors continue to gain ground. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other federal agencies have all issued warnings about the surge in cyberattacks against healthcare organisations.”
We are now also seeing “secondary infections,” which are leveraged to facilitate long-term cyberattack campaigns, happening across the digital healthcare supply chain and have led to a surge of extortions and helped fuel a cybercrime market. Our research found protected health information (PHI) being bought and sold on dark web markets as cybercriminals look for the easiest way to cash in on data.
A Ransomware Pandemic
In 2020, we saw ransomware go mainstream. The wide-reaching impact of ransomware has been assisted largely by way of affiliate programs. Many ransomware groups offering ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), making the deployment of ransomware easily accessible to millions of cybercriminals who previously did not have the tools to carry out these attacks. Compounding these risks is the adage of affiliate programs for ransomware groups, providing new and unique ways for malware operators to have others deploy their payloads for a cut of the eventual profits.
“As RaaS explodes in popularity on the crimeware forums, cybercriminals are finding new and unique ways to deploy ransomware across organisations,” said Greg Foss, senior cybersecurity strategist at VMware Security Business Unit. “Similar to how spies are recruited for espionage against government agencies, regular everyday people with access to high-value targets can be recruited to deploy malware. Often, they are lured through offers of significant sums of money or even a percentage of the ransomware payout, with some offering hundreds of thousands of dollars per victimised organisation. Affiliate programs and partnerships between ransomware groups have also become a common occurrence alongside the general recruiting of insiders. These affiliate programs look to partner with initial access brokers – criminals that specialise in breaking into organisations and subsequently sell direct access and other ransomware gangs to improve their tradecraft, furthering their reach and overall profitability.
The above image taken from the dark web is a recent example of a recent post by the ransomware group, Darkside, actively looking for affiliates to add to their operation.
Throughout 2020, we have seen expansions in the use of ransomware with some threat actors repurposing ransomware for use as pure wipers, wherein the decryption keys will be able to recover the lost data, and more recently in Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, impacting core services that citizens rely on every day. There is no sign of these groups slowing down. We are witnessing the exact opposite, with groups beginning to collaborate at an unprecedented scale, share stolen resources, and even combine forces.
“COVID-19 test results are a hot commodity on the dark web right now, mostly in the form of large data dumps,” said Greg Foss. “An interesting component around today’s ransomware attacks is that underqualified, lesser-known cybercriminal groups are behind them thanks to the rise in RaaS. All it takes is a quick search on the dark web for someone to license out a ransomware payload to infect targets. Today, it’s unfortunately just as easy to sign up for a grocery delivery service as it is to subscribe to ransomware.”
The above image taken from the dark web shows patient data for sale, specifically related to COVID-19 test results, appointments, and other PHI.
The Rise in Secondary Extortion
Ransomware groups have widely adopted double extortion as a core tactic to ensure profitability. By taking time to quietly exfiltrate sensitive information from the organisation, cybercriminals gain incrementally significant leverage on their victim organisations, forcing organisations to not only pay to decrypt their content but also prevent potentially harmful data from being sold or otherwise publicly disclosed. Thus, significantly increasing the impact and damage that ransomware groups can inflict upon their victims and sending a stark warning to others to protect their networks from this ever-evolving threat.
How to Fight Back: Three Security Recommendations for Healthcare CISOs
For healthcare organisations, understanding the evolving threat landscape is half the battle. Now that CISOs have a grasp of what they are up against, there is a key defence that should be in place. Here are three best practices to help CISOs stay one step ahead of attackers:
Next-generation Antivirus (AV): CISOs can start by ensuring their endpoint protection solution incorporates defences for each phase of ransomware attacks: the delivery, propagation, and encryption stages. Today, traditional AV focuses mostly on the delivery stage, but this leaves a security gap with new malware. To detect and stop these attacks from propagating, solutions should also track endpoint activity to root out common behaviours such as privilege escalation and lateral movement, and finally prevent encryption by employing decoys and protecting local files and critical boot sequences.
Endpoint Protection: CISOs need an endpoint protection solution that easily scales and deploys to new users. The inability to rapidly provision new remote endpoints is another vulnerability and break in security postures. Healthcare organisations need the ability to easily provision access to new users while maintaining data privacy, compliance, and security practices. Siloed and on-premises security products increase complexity and delay progress in standing up and securing remote workers. Endpoint cloud helps organisations transform security with cloud-native endpoint protection that eliminates many of the time and resource-consuming barriers that often slow down deployments. The solution also offers security teams the full visibility and control required to help prevent, detect, and respond to endpoint threats.
IT Tracking Tools: For CISOs to understand any area of vulnerability it is important to employ a solution that enables organisations to assess and harden system state. It is much easier to patch and prevent attacks than it is to remediate them. When it comes to helping prevent ransomware attacks, solutions that offer automated reporting to track configuration drift will help ensure environments stay as secure as possible. A cloud audit and remediation solution allows security teams to easily track drift and comes ready with built-in response tools to apply updates or run scripts for full remediation in minutes.
Securing Healthcare Organisations in 2021 and Beyond
The pandemic has brought about not only operational and patient challenges but also new cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities for healthcare organisations. For CISOs and security leaders, it is time to ensure the proper security controls are in place as new technology is implemented to support remote work, patient care and more.
Healthcare organisations will continue to be extorted by cybercriminals looking for a payday or to monetise medical and patient data. As we move forward, it is critical to pay close attention not only to how these criminals achieve their goals but also to how we respond to these threats. We must continue to leverage organisations like the H-ISAC to bring the industry together and enable real-time collaboration and threat intelligence sharing. Our 2020 findings should serve as a starting point for a discussion between the cybersecurity community and the defenders of the healthcare sector on how to best collaborate and ensure patient care are not disrupted by cyberattacks.
BuzzStreets and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are launching a unique indoor way-finder for hospitals to help patients and their families navigate their way around more easily, reduce staff time spent giving directions, help ensure patients arrive on time for appointments, reduce stress, and minimise traffic in the corridors.
Research has shown that 87% of patients ask for directions when they go to a hospital or other public health facility, and 30% of first-time visitors get lost (Source: Deloitte Digital).
The new app is part of the CW Innovation programme – a joint initiative between Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and its charity CW+ – to ‘test and scale’ innovations and digital systems that improve patient care and experience.
After a successful trial, the new system created by BuzzStreets, allows visitors to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London to navigate their way from outside all the way to the specific location they need, whether that’s a bed on a ward, a consulting room, the café, or the pharmacy. The app includes Points of Interest such as offices, cafeterias and, uniquely, more information about the Trust’s collection of over 2,000 works of art and digital installations that transform the hospital environment for patients, families, volunteers and staff.
When the person arrives at the hospital, they open the app and key in the location they want. The app then calculates a route from their current location to the point in the hospital they need. It shows a map of the hospital and their route is clearly marked. Just like traditional car sat-nav systems they then press ‘start’ and the app visually shows them where to head and audibly advises them.
As they progress along the route the app constantly updates showing them where they are and giving them regular voice and visual updates to show them where and when to turn, go straight-on, or change floors. It will also let the person know when they have arrived at their destination. However, unlike car sat-nav the system is accurate to 1-2metres as the ‘sensors’ are within the hospital (not 12,000 miles away in space).
“The pilot project has already shown that the app reduces frustration for staff and visitors alike. It helps reduce the anxiety of patients and visitors trying to find their way in the hospital, which previously required contact with multiple different staff. Overall, we’ve seen that the app helps save resources, improve patient outcomes, and enhances the entire hospital experience for patients and their families,” explains Vanessa Sloane, Deputy Chief Nurse at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
“The BuzzStreets system brings outdoor navigation inside. And as one of London’s biggest and busiest hospitals, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has been the perfect pilot location. It’s a complex building with over 6000 visitors every day – all with different needs, at different times, with different end locations. We’ve developed the app to tackle the common problems relating to visitors getting lost and staff spending time giving directions to save the NHS both time and money,” says Joe Fernandez, CEO of BuzzStreets.
BuzzStreets is an award-winning navigation platform, that enables organisations (hospitals, shopping malls, airports, offices, stadiums, etc.) to offer their customers an indoor way-finder that allows them to navigate inside the building. The client arrives at the entrance or reception and then uses the bespoke app to navigate to the specific location (room, shop, check-in, office, or even seat) they need. BuzzStreets also supplies movement analytics that can help improve building efficiency and keep track of vital equipment. To learn more visit www.buzzstreets.com
PATCHS enables GP practices across England to conduct patient consultations entirely online, prioritise patients based on clinical need, and reduce their workload
An AI online consultation system could slash GP waiting times from three weeks to just three hours, Advanced has revealed. Working with Spectra Analytics and The University of Manchester, the British software provider has developed a way for GP practices to handle large volumes of patients more efficiently.
PATCHS enables patients to contact their GP from their practice website or smartphone, dramatically reducing the pressure on phone lines and reception teams as well as eliminating the need for most patients to attend the practice in person. In doing so, it means patients with urgent requests can get through to their practice on the phone faster, while GPs can manage non-urgent requests online in their own time based on clinical priority. PATCHS’ triage and workflow functionality enables practices to handle hundreds of requests simultaneously, allowing practice staff to prioritise and signpost patients to the right care provider in real-time, thus reducing their workload.
Staff can use PATCHS for bulk, ad-hoc, and two-way messaging to patients, as well as online questionnaires to support long term condition management and annual reviews. In addition, integration with existing clinical systems enables automatic patient registration, note filing and SNOMED coding.
Patients that previously struggled to communicate with their GP practice over the telephone or in person can now communicate in their own time, and in over 30 languages using PATCHS’ language translation functions. Non-digital patients also benefit as practice staff have more time to support them and can submit requests on their behalf through PATCHS.
PATCHS is used in GP practices across England including Langworthy Medical Practice in Salford. The practice processes around 160 requests each day, for a population of 20,000 patients, and has reduced waiting times from three weeks to three hours on average.
Dr Benjamin Brown, a GP partner at Langworthy Medical Practice and researcher at The University of Manchester, comments: “Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, all GP practices have been expected to provide online consultations. Unfortunately, a rush to adopt online consultation systems has left many GP practices with outdated solutions that are unable to deliver value. PATCHS is different, and has transformed the way we handle patient demand.
“In my practice, we used to have back-to-back appointments with patients but no effective triage procedures. Patients would often get face-to-face appointments when they didn’t need one, and everyone would get 10 minutes regardless of how simple or complex their problem. Now we spend most of our time communicating with patients via PATCHS, as 75% of consultations can be managed without face-to-face, telephone or video contact. Most PATCHS consultations take anywhere from one to eight minutes, giving us time to spend helping patients with more complex problems.”
Following its success, PATCHS has this week been accredited for the new Digital First, Online Consultation and Video Consultation (DFOCVC) Framework, which aims to deliver the NHS’ commitments to support online consultation in general practice. All GP practices will now need to choose an experienced and qualified supplier from the framework.
Ric Thompson, Managing Director – Health & Care – Advanced. “There’s no doubt the past year has brought more than its fair share of challenges but there have been some silver linings. At Advanced, we touch almost every part of health and care with our technology, so in many cases we have been helping our customers deal with some of these the challenges.
“We’ve seen remarkable results through innovation in primary healthcare and at a scale no one could have imagined. PATCHS is a great example, and its accreditation for the DFOCVC Framework confirms it meets the criteria set by NHS England. Even during the height of pandemic, the system has enabled GPs to conduct patient consultations entirely online, prioritise patients based on clinical need, and reduce their workload.”
BBI Solutions has created a bespoke mobile solution for the world’s first and quickest on-site Legionella test.
The rapid Hydrosense test comes at a critical time as many buildings such as offices, schools and commercial properties reopen in accordance with the easing of restrictions.
Using its patented Novarum™ technology, BBI Solutions has developed a mobile app-based test reader and customisable data storage system solution for Hydrosense Ltd, a pioneer in the rapid testing industry committed to making widely available, fast, easy to use, accurate testing for Legionella SG1, the most dangerous strain of Legionella bacteria.
Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially deadly lung infection caused by the inhalation of Legionella contaminated water droplets. A growing problem in the built environment, Europe and the USA have seen more and more cases of Legionnaires’ disease every year since 2013.
Long term closures have encouraged system stagnation and low flow on a mass scale, leading to factors which promote the growth of Legionella bacteria in water systems, such as biofilm formation and thermal gain, as well as the resuscitation of Legionella bacteria in its dormant state.
BBI Solutions’ tailored mobile solution, built on Hydrosense’s existing test technology, is an accurate rapid platform which can be used as part of a superior facilities water management program or in a small scale or domestic setting.
The pioneering Novarum™️ technology transforms a smartphone into a highly functional test reader, allowing users to read, store and share results quickly with minimal training. The Hydrosense test can be conducted and interpreted in 25 minutes, ensuring that spaces are safe for employees and customers to return or prompting action where necessary.
Dr Neil Polwart, Head of Mobile at BBI, said: “Creating this bespoke platform to support Hydrosense’s ground-breaking Legionella test was an exciting opportunity. We’re delighted to have delivered this effective, holistic solution.
“Novarum creates innovative, tailored solutions to support individual clients’ needs; every app we create is unique – delivering effective, intuitive mobile eco-systems that enable complex tests to be easily and accurately read with results shared from any location.”
Greg Rankin, CEO at Hydrosense, said: “Our test is the fastest in the world, with results in as little as 25 minutes. We have ensured that we have the fastest possible solution to get information into the hands of duty holders who can decide to shut or clean facilities to protect people immediately, minimising exposure to potentially deadly bacteria and the risk of disease.
“Thanks to our innovative test and our partnership with BBI, Hydrosense has been able to help fast track the reopening of the economy safely when our susceptibility to Legionella is actually at an all-time high.”
HIoT Leader Extends Offering into U.K. with Partner’s Extensive Footprint
Cylera, the leading healthcare IoT (HIoT) cybersecurity and threat intelligence company, announced today the addition of Core to Cloud to the company’s Global Channel Partner Program. Based in the U.K. Core to Cloud delivers innovative cybersecurity solutions that enable secure digital business in a world of growing threats.
“With in-depth industry experience and a strong focus on healthcare, education, compliance and security, Core to Cloud creates bespoke solutions that effectively help organizations with visibility, validation, governance and response to cyber threats. This creates the perfect opportunity for Cylera to partner with a strong industry-leading provider with clear success in the U.K. markets,” said Timur Ozekcin, Co-Founder and CEO of Cylera. “We are already seeing success through enhancing Core to Cloud’s offering with Cylera’s HIoT cybersecurity platform.”
Along with its extensive work within the public sector and healthcare, Core to Cloud’s unique, consultative approach has positioned the firm as one of the most trusted cybersecurity specialists out there. In the last couple of years, Core to Cloud has quickly gained a reputation for bringing highly disruptive security technologies to market and this was one of the key reasons why Cylera chose to partner with the organization.
“With a go-to-market strategy that provides a solution-led approach that puts the customer needs first, we are excited to add Cylera’s technology to our capabilities and aid the expansion of the relationship,” said James Cunningham, Managing Director at Core to Cloud. “This collaboration will enable both Core to Cloud and Cylera to be jointly competitive in the U.K. market.”
“We have already seen demand with multiple NHS customers asking us for an IoT solution that would provide a complete asset list of all their connected devices and provide a clientless way to secure medical devices as well as highlight their vulnerabilities, show granular device information and utilization as well as provide the information needed for segmentation. We researched and tested the market and found the best fit was the Cylera solution, which is custom built for hospitals and provides rich information for IT, IG and Medical Engineering.”
Cylera is a contextually aware platform for asset management, risk analysis and threat detection. The platform is purpose-built for complex, high-impact environments, and combines comprehensive contextual awareness with a deep understanding of operational workflows. Cylera’s insights and recommendations simplify response playbooks, decrease time to remediation, and enable informed decision making.
To learn more about the Cylera and Core to Cloud partnership, see Core to Cloud’s blog post here.
ABOUT CYLERA
Founded in late 2017, and headquartered in New York, Cylera is the only centralized cybersecurity solution that secures the entire connected IoT environment. Cylera’s patented platform is contextually-aware for asset management, risk analysis and threat detection to deliver the strongest, most advanced healthcare IoT (HIoT) cybersecurity risk management solution for the industry.
ABOUT CORE TO CLOUD
Core to Cloud was founded in 2015 and delivers highly disruptive security and compliance technologies to the market. Core to Cloud has a great go to market strategy that provides a solution led approach that puts the customer first. There is a logical process that means the vendors they work with have a greater opportunity to engage with the end user at the right time rather than just pushing product for the sake of it. Core to Cloud is excited to be able to aid the expansion of its relationships by adding the Cylera product to its portfolio.
One of the largest NHS trusts in the Midlands has signed up to an innovative new security system to improve patient safety.
Bosses at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and the County Hospital, in Stafford, say the new security measures will improve safety and bring peace of mind for staff and patients, by reducing the impact of a cyber-attack.
The Trust has linked up with M8 Solutions to have the Ordr Systems Control Engine implemented. It means that all hospital equipment, medical and non-medical, connected to the Trust’s network can be protected and monitored under one umbrella system, which can detect any abnormal activity.
Mark Bostock, information management and technology director at the UHNM Trust, said: “This is a huge step forward in our cyber security capabilities. These are positive steps to give us a level of assurance that our hospitals are as safe as possible for our UHNM team and our patients.”
Dr Zia Din, the Trust’s chief clinical information officer, added: “Saving time for staff and reassuring patients that they and their information are safe is always a priority for us.
“This system is invaluable, allowing our staff to care for our patients safe in the knowledge that cyber security is being taken care of. It is reassuring that we are less likely to have disruption to our systems necessary for delivery of patient care.”
M8 Solutions co-founder and lead consultant Tracy Scriven said dealing with cyber-security is an ever-changing challenge, made more complicated with the increasing number of devices being linked to networks.
Tracy, who has worked with UHNM previously, said a cyber-attack can affect hospitals and GP surgeries, with devastating effect, resulting in cancelled appointments and operations.
“When you compare the risk of fire or flood or disaster, those risks are quantifiable,” she said. “It is easy to understand the causes, how to deal with them and the extent of the damage they can cause. Cyber is not like that; it is constantly changing, and you have no idea how big, small, or sinister the risk might be.
“The increasing number of medical devices in a hospital which are connected to the network present an ever-growing risk. Non-medical devices like CCTV cameras are also connected. This is known as the Internet of Things, or IoT. IoT Security is increasingly complex – and NHS trusts need to be able to discover, secure and monitor the IoT devices that are connected to their networks.
“For example, when installed, the camera is connected to the trust network. There is a risk that someone could hack into the cameras and the wider network – there have been examples of this happening in other places around the world.”
She said the Ordr system had improved patient safety in many ways.
“The deployment of the Ordr system helps protect the hospital infrastructure from breaches of cyber security which could result in patient information being stolen and/or medical equipment being unavailable due to cyber-attack, ” she said.
“In addition, it can help save time by providing accurate information on what equipment is where on the network. It also helps staff by ensuring that any vulnerability is highlighted in a single dashboard and saves time by automating the mitigation of a cyber-attack. Another benefit that indirectly aids patient care – through saving the hospital money – is the medical device utilisation functionality.This enables the hospital to save money by not having to invest in equipment when it is not needed by utilising under-deployed assets. This feature helps to ensure patient access to medical equipment is available as much as possible.”
Paul Hinchy, Tracy’s fellow M8 Solutions co-founder and lead consultant, added: “Medical devices such as blood infusion pumps, MRI scanners, ultrasound machines as well as estates and facilities devices are great examples of existing critical areas of the day-to-day running of any hospital, that can now be further protected and more efficient.
“Ordr is helping secure the Trust’s network and previous vulnerabilities have been highlighted and remedied. This positively impacts all areas of the hospital as each and every device is now understood.
“It saves time by identifying vulnerable devices; creating a register of assets and giving managers an overview of the devices and their status.”
