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The healthcare industry is vulnerable to many cyber attacks as it heads towards increased digital adoption of technologies like IoT, AI, mobile devices, and EHR.
FREMONT, CA: Healthcare organizations must ensure data loss prevention is integral to how they operate and continuously improve. Medical professionals and patients benefit from the abundance and accessibility of data, but so does any cybercriminal looking to make a profit from harming others entities. Healthcare workers handle large amounts of personal health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII). Organizations must secure and protect these types of data from malicious threat actors.
In recent years, cyberattacks have soared in the healthcare industry and can worsen. A 2022 research showed that the healthcare sector was the most common target of cyberattacks in 2021, accounting for 33 percent of incidents.
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Cyberattacks can target any healthcare facility, no matter how strong its cybersecurity posture may be. Securely moving data between and within organizations can be challenging.
Electronic health records (EHR) vulnerabilities: Patients can easily access their electronic health records, while providers can share patient data through health information exchanges (HIE). While sharing this information is efficient and effective, security risks are associated with it. Cybercriminals take advantage of networks with large amounts of sensitive personal health information. There is great interest in PHI on the dark web, and threat actors find it highly valuable since it facilitates identity theft. Many patient records contain personal information, such as social security numbers, medical histories, insurance, and payment information, that is lucrative to cybercriminals.
Mobile medical applications and telehealth services: Health care is becoming more convenient and accessible through telehealth and mobile apps, but many security risks lurk behind them. These devices do not typically protect sensitive personal health information.
When accessing medical apps or telehealth, patients may need help understanding the importance of cybersecurity. It is also possible for them to use the same password for all their accounts, and they may not use multi-factor authentication (MFA). Data breaches can result from these mistakes, posing a greater risk to healthcare organizations.
Internet of things (IoT) security vulnerabilities: The IoT offers many benefits to medical organizations and facilities, such as improving data reporting and streamlining operations. There is a greater risk of cyberattacks on these devices.
A study shows 63 percent of healthcare companies have experienced security incidents related to unmanaged IoT devices in the past several years. Security features often need to be improved in this technology, posing security challenges for healthcare IT teams and contributing to the expansion of cybersecurity threats.
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