The cybersecurity threats facing the healthcare industry
Over the past few years, the healthcare industry has been fighting off cyber criminals from all angles. With reports revealing that healthcare firms were hit with four times the global average of cyber attacks across 2023 – experiencing over 1500 cyber attacks per week in the first three quarters of the year- it is clear that the industry is operating in an increasingly dangerous cyber landscape.
But why is the healthcare industry in the firing line, and what can healthcare providers do to ensure that they remain protected against cybersecurity threats and keep operations running smoothly?High stakes, low levels of security
The first step in mitigating cyber threats is to understand why healthcare providers are being targeted in the first place.
From patient electronic medical records to payment information – healthcare providers store a vast amount of highly sensitive information. If cyber criminals are able to gain access to this data, they could leverage it for a range of malicious benefits. Whether they decide to sell this information on the dark web or leverage it to engage in identity theft or financial fraud – if this information falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be catastrophic. As well as this, cyber criminals are very aware that if they are able to gain access to this highly sensitive information, healthcare providers will be more likely to pay their ransom demands, making them even more vulnerable to an attack.
A report from VMO2 revealed that 77% of healthcare providers still use legacy technology. These outdated technologies make healthcare providers an even more lucrative target for cybercriminals, given they are easier for malicious actors to infiltrate and exploit, as their creation pre-dates the emergence of the more sophisticated security threats we see today. Unless healthcare providers embrace digital transformation, they remain a sitting duck.
The direct result of cyber criminals targeting healthcare providers by disrupting their operations causes significant issues for the healthcare system – directly impacting patients.
