NHS Scotland domains reportedly found serving adult content and illegal sport streams

A legacy website was apparently compromised and used to promote inappropriate content

by · TechRadar

News By Sead Fadilpašić published 9 April 2026

(Image credit: Pixabay)

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  • Legacy NHS Scotland website hacked and defaced
  • Site used to host porn, gambling, and illegal streams
  • No evidence of patient data or NHS systems compromised

The legacy website of a Scottish NHS trust was seemingly hacked and used to distribute pornography, illegal sports streams, and other inappropriate content.

Former cybersecurity expert Nick Hatter took to X to warn the UK government and other relevant parties about a breach at a government website:

“NHSScotland has been hacked and is linking to porn sites, malware, gambling, amongst other nasty things,” he said, before sharing a list of compromised URLs. “Please check your patient records have not been compromised,” he added.

Article continues below

Defaced website

Investigating the matter further, The Register found the site belongs to The New Surgery in Kilmacolm, near Glasgow, but that it is not the one currently being used by the practice.

The New Surgery's current domain is www.thenewsurgery.scot.nhs.uk, while the compromised one is thenewsurgery-kilmacolm-langbank.scot.nhs.uk. Looking at the website now, it is completely defaced, and carries a large NHS Scotland logo with a short message:

“Due to unforeseen technical issues, the "The New Surgery (Kilmacolm)" website is currently unavailable. We are working to resolve the issues and hope to have the site back up as soon as possible.” Someone has obviously taken notice.

A spokesperson for the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), Scotland's largest health board and the one that oversees The New Surgery, told The Register its cybersecurity team was now working with Public Services Delivery Scotland's Cyber Centre of Excellence to “support an independent GP practice after being made aware that a legacy website had been compromised.”

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