NHS Dumfries & Galloway hackers unlikely to be convicted – police

A multi-agency investigation is under way, involving Police Scotland, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of the UK’s spy agency, GCHQ.

In February, an international inquiry led by the NCA infiltrated and took control of systems belonging to a ransomware group called Lockbit.

Sanctions against the group’s alleged leader were announced and the United States offered a $10m (£7.79m), external reward leading to his arrest and/or conviction.

Det Ch Insp MacLean said in recent years Police Scotland had identified individuals based in Scotland who had been responsible for ransomware attacks.

The force has also provided information which has led to action against cyber criminals in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US.

But he acknowledged that getting anyone from INC Ransom into a Scottish court would be challenging.

“In lieu of that, we will try everything to identify their infrastructure, identify them, take any measures to stop them committing these crimes and take them to task for what they’ve done,” he said.

“Sanctions are becoming more common the more we identify these people.

“These individuals know they’re targeting health boards across the globe, they know the impact it’s going to have. It’s absolutely horrendous. It’s a heinous crime.”

Police Scotland said it received between 40 to 50 reports of cyber attacks every year.

Victims have ranged from charities and small businesses to a global company headquartered in Scotland.