Healthcare
Key reasons why healthcare is the biggest target for cyberattacks
Technological advancements have revolutionised business operations in more ways than one, leading to higher efficiencies and increased revenues. On the flip side, these advancements have also given an undesirable boost to cybercrimes. As of 2-May 2024, 35,900,145,035 records have been breached in 9,478 publicly disclosed incidents. The healthcare sector has been the second most breached sector in 2023. In fact, healthcare data breaches have increased by a whopping 239 per cent in the past four years.
The question that arises is, why are cyber threats in healthcare rising so fast?
Let us delve into the reasons behind this.
- Criminal sale of healthcare data
- Patient data available from multiple sources
- Data accessed by multiple entities
- Poor education about cybersecurity
- Difficulties in ensuring cybersecurity
- Obsolete systems
Data shows that financial gain is one of the primary reasons for 95 per cent of cyberattacks in the healthcare sector. Healthcare records store large volumes of confidential patient data that can be sold for profit. Cybercriminals access such patient data and sell it in the market.
The healthcare sector utilises a multitude of devices like X-ray machines, insulin pumps, heart rate monitors, etc. Besides these, wearables like smartwatches, activity trackers such as Fitbit and many more, are linked to data sources that contain sensitive patient information. These devices are not secure and can be easily accessed by cyber criminals who can then launch attacks on servers holding valuable information. According to Fortified Health Security, 65 per cent of healthcare data breaches in the first half of 2023 were because of network servers.
Medical treatment requires collaboration between multiple entities like doctors, pathologists, pharmacists, and more. Hence, data is accessed from different devices or networks. This makes healthcare data vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Healthcare professionals work with vast volumes of data and an extensive network of servers and devices. In large organisations, this number is sizable and it requires efforts from all stakeholders to prevent cyber attacks.
Data can be secured only if all the stakeholders are knowledgeable about cyber risks and take proactive steps. Unfortunately, healthcare staff is rarely educated on the potential cyber risks and how to mitigate them. And this creates a gap in the cybersecurity measures being taken.
Healthcare data needs to be accessible and shareable through multiple devices. Usually, the data has to be shared immediately leaving little time to take cybersecurity measures.
Many healthcare organisations still use outdated technologies and systems that may not be compliant with the latest regulations. This makes the data of such organisations susceptible to data breaches and cyberattacks.
Statistics show alarming rate of cyber attacks on healthcare data
- According to the 2024 healthcare cyber trend research report based on HHS/OCR data, approximately 118.9 million healthcare patient records were compromised by cyberattacks in 2023.
- Healthcare data breaches have increased by 53.3 per cent from 2020 to 2024.
- As per IBM 2022, the average financial loss due to data breaches in healthcare increased from $9 million to $10.10 million.
Hence, healthcare organisations must ensure that they implement the most advanced cybersecurity systems to protect their data.
Cybersecurity measures for healthcare data
Data encryption: Encrypt all sensitive data, both stored data and data being transmitted, to protect it from unauthorised access.
Access control: Implement strict access controls like multi-factor authentication to ensure that only authorised personnel can access sensitive information.
Compliance and regulation: Ensure compliance with healthcare industry regulations such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to minimise the risk of cyberattacks.
Regular audits and monitoring: Implement regular audits of systems and networks to help identify vulnerabilities and to ensure compliance with security policies. Continuous monitoring helps to detect and respond to security incidents promptly.
Employee training: Provide comprehensive cybersecurity training to all staff members to educate them about security best practices and the importance of protecting patient information.
Secure network architecture: Isolate sensitive data and critical systems from less safe areas. Monitor and control network traffic by implementing firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention systems.
Vendor risk management: Evaluate and manage the cybersecurity risks posed by third-party vendors and service providers who have access to patient data or critical systems.
Conclusion
The healthcare sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors because it works with vast volumes of confidential patient information. Cybercriminals access this data in different ways and subject it to malicious activities. Hence, healthcare organisations must take adequate measures to reduce the risk of cyber threats in healthcare.
How Infosys BPM can help
Infosys provides Healthcare BPOServices that can transform operating models, enhance business performance and standardise processes at minimal costs. We build robust cybersecurity systems for healthcare so that cyber risks be minimised effectively.
