SO far, Theresa May, who was Home Secretary for five years with responsibility for homeland security, has escaped practically unscathed in the reaction to Friday's cyber attack (“NHS hit by cyber attacks as hackers demand ransom”, The Herald, May 13).
As the attack was widespread, there will no doubt be an attempt to hide behind its global nature, but the fact remains that the Government has completely failed to secure our cyber borders, when it has been known for years that we are potentially at risk.
The public has no way of knowing exactly how vulnerable the country is to cyber attacks, but the security agencies must be fully aware of the level of risk which exists, and it is clear as a result of what has taken place that the protection required does not exist.
Who knows what other cyber security exposures lie in wait for the next form of attack; will it be our defences, our banks, our air traffic control?
The complacency of the Government, and of Mrs May as Home Secretary in particular, is now evident, and the focus on nuclear weapons has been shown to be of no value whatsoever in protecting our most vulnerable borders.
Gerry Seenan,
Eglinton Terrace, Skelmorlie.
HOW astute of Home Secretary Amber Rudd to lecture the NHS trusts still reeling from Friday's cyber-attack that they all need to learn from this and "upgrade their IT systems".
May I be so bold to ask Saint Amber – patron saint of the blindingly obvious – where they are going to find the money to achieve this when real-term NHS funding has declined for decades, with what's left routinely frittered away via "private consultancies", "agency staff" and "locum in perpetuum" rackets leaving most barely able to function?
Mark Boyle,
15 Linn Park Gardens, Johnstone, Renfrewshire.
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