The healthcare industry is one of the prime targets of cybercriminals. Healthcare data is valuable on the black market, and patient records can be used to commit identity theft and fraud. In addition, the healthcare industry is increasingly reliant on technology, which creates more opportunities for cyberattacks.
Despite the increasing threat landscape, many healthcare organizations still have not taken the necessary steps to protect themselves. This is often due to a lack of understanding of the risks and a lack of resources. In this blog post, we will take a look at the top cybersecurity threats in healthcare and what you can do to protect yourself.
Types of Cyber Threats in Healthcare
Healthcare institutions are highly susceptible to the biggest cyber threats. Cybercriminals constantly search for new ways to exploit networks, systems, and data to access sensitive medical information.
Healthcare industry providers should be aware of the most common types of security threats listed below:
Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware attacks are a big danger to the healthcare industry as it disrupts the operation. This makes it impossible for healthcare organizations to access critical data and essential patient information. It involves malicious software encrypting and the attackers locked files on a victim’s computer. This makes the data inaccessible unless a ransom is paid.
Around 66% of hospitals in the US were the target of a ransomware attack at some point in 2022 (an increase of almost 50% from 2021).
With cybercriminals becoming smarter, ransomware attacks are becoming more common and dangerous. This risks patient care, sensitive data, electronic health records, and medical equipment.
One way healthcare organizations can prevent ransomware attacks is by taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity. This includes measures such as:
- Implement strong login credentials policies: Enforce the use of complex and unique passwords for all user accounts, including those for accessing protected health information and critical systems.
- Use multi-factor authentication: Multi-factor authentication requires users to perform multiple identity confirmations before accessing sensitive data.
- Conduct regular employee training: Educate staff on the risks of ransomware attacks and the importance of cybersecurity best practices, including avoiding suspicious links and email attachments.
- Keep systems updated: Regularly update software, operating systems, and antivirus programs to protect against known vulnerabilities.
- Implement email filtering: Use advanced email filtering tools to block malicious attachments and links from reaching users’ inboxes.
- Maintain offline backups: Regularly backup important data and store copies offline to ensure quick recovery in case of an attack.
- Invest in cybersecurity insurance: This provides additional protection, covering financial losses resulting from ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity threats.
- Develop a ransomware response plan: Establish a clear plan to respond to ransomware attacks, outlining how to communicate during system outages and how to restore data from backups.
Phishing Scams
Phishing attacks typically involve deceptive emails or messages that appear to be from a legitimate source. The goal here is to lure recipients into providing personal or financial data, clicking on malicious links, or downloading malware, such as ransomware.
Phishing scams significantly impact the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors—44.7% of small businesses, 49.2% of medium-sized businesses, and 49.3% of large enterprises.
To prevent a phishing attack, organizations in the healthcare industry should consider the following strategies:
- Conduct regular employee training: Educate employees on recognizing and avoiding phishing attempts, emphasizing the importance of being cautious with emails, and attachments, and clicking on a malicious link, even from seemingly legitimate sources. This prevents them from falling victim to this attack
- Implement strong email filtering: Use advanced email filtering tools to block malicious emails, attachments, and links from reaching users’ inboxes.
- Utilize web filters: Employ web filters that deny access to known malicious websites and those harboring malware, using blacklists, category filters, and keyword filters to provide comprehensive protection.
- Encourage the use of secure communication channels: Implement secure communication platforms for sharing sensitive information within the organization, reducing the likelihood of employees falling for phishing scams.
- Monitor and restrict access: Regularly review user access permissions and limit access to sensitive data and systems to only those who require it for their job functions.
- Keep software and systems up-to-date: Protect against known vulnerabilities by regularly updating medical software, operating systems, and antivirus programs.
- Establish clear reporting protocols: Encourage employees to report suspicious emails or messages to the health information technology department for further investigation.
- Perform regular security audits: Conduct periodic security assessments to identify vulnerabilities and ensure that all security measures function effectively.
Data Breaches
The healthcare industry has become a prime target for cybercriminals seeking financial gain, with 472 healthcare data breaches reported in the first few months of 2022 alone. This alarming trend underscores the need for healthcare organizations to prioritize cybersecurity measures to protect electronic health records and medical equipment.
To prevent data breaches in the healthcare sector, organizations should take the following steps:
- Conduct an annual security risk analysis: Assess vulnerabilities and areas for improvement in compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule, which already requires periodic risk analysis.
- Choose trusted partners: When outsourcing services like medical billing, coding, or transcription, ensure that third-party providers have robust security measures in place.
- Provide continuing education: Regularly educate employees on HIPAA rules and regulations, emphasizing the implications of data breaches and consequences of violations.
- Monitor devices and records: Train employees in proper procedures for logging on and off machines, especially shared devices, and remind them not to leave electronic devices or paper records unattended.
- Limit access to patient information: Restrict access to patient data based on job roles and manage user permissions to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.
- Create a wireless network for guests: Offer patients and visitors Wi-Fi access through a subnetwork to prevent unauthorized access to the organization’s main network.
- Restrict the use of personal devices: Implement and enforce a “bring your own device” policy to regulate the use of personal devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, within the organization.
- Update IT infrastructure: Regularly update or replace outdated hardware that no longer supports security patches to maintain a secure technological environment.
- Invest in quality IT staff: Hire experienced IT professionals to manage and support security measures, recognizing their crucial role in the organization’s overall cybersecurity.
- Prepare with a proactive approach: Given the prevalence of healthcare data breaches, it is essential to have a reliable legal team on standby to deal with incidents when they occur.
Medical Device Hacking
Medical device hacking refers to unauthorized access and control of medical devices used by healthcare providers and patients. This can lead to compromised patient data, disrupted healthcare services, and even directly harm patients.
With the rise of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), devices have become increasingly vulnerable to security incidents. Common targets include drug-infusion pumps, pacemakers, wearable health devices, MRI devices, and medical records.
To prevent medical device hacking in the healthcare sector, organizations should implement the following measures:
- Prioritize cybersecurity in medical device design: Manufacturers should consider cybersecurity risks from the outset when developing medical devices. Incorporate advanced security features and update them regularly to keep up with technological advancements.
- Invest in secure medical devices: Healthcare organizations should purchase medical devices with robust security features and consider using net 30 accounts if funds are not immediately available.
- Establish strong security policies: Implement and enforce policies for using medical devices, including access control, authentication, and device updates.
- Regularly update device software: Ensure that all medical devices, software, and systems receive timely updates and security patches to maintain strong defenses against evolving cyber threats.
- Train medical professionals: Provide training to healthcare staff on cybersecurity risks and best practices related to the use of medical devices.
- Monitor and audit device usage: Regularly review and assess medical device usage to detect and address any suspicious activity or security weaknesses.
- Collaborate with security professionals: Work closely with security teams to identify and mitigate potential security risks associated with medical devices.
- Implement network segmentation: Separate medical devices from the main hospital network to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to critical data stored and systems.
- Develop incident response plans: Prepare for potential security breaches by establishing a comprehensive incident response plan, including procedures for reporting, investigating, and remediating incidents.
DDos Attacks
One of healthcare organizations’ most common cyber threats is the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. An average cost of a DDoS attack in the US is around $218k if we don’t count in any potential ransom costs. In these attacks, the attacker overwhelms a healthcare provider’s systems with excessive traffic, denying access to medical data and disrupting healthcare services.
DDoS attacks can lead to significant financial and reputational damage for healthcare providers. Medical professionals may be unable to access sensitive patient information or use medical devices, causing delays in treatment and potentially impacting patient outcomes. In response, healthcare organizations must invest in infrastructure security and implement strategies to prevent data theft and protect patient health information.
To mitigate the risks posed by DDoS attacks, consider the following best practices:
- Develop a DDoS Response Plan: This helps healthcare providers quickly identify and mitigate the effects. Your response plan should involve a multidisciplinary team—including IT security professionals, medical professionals, and administrative staff.
- Strengthen Network Security: Implement robust security measures like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and antivirus software. Additional security layers, such as endpoint security and web security tools, can further safeguard sensitive patient data.
- Monitor Network Traffic: Regularly monitoring network traffic can help identify unusual activity, such as sudden surges in traffic or high demand for a specific application, which could indicate a potential DDoS attack. Security teams should be trained to recognize these warning signs and respond swiftly to minimize the impact.
- Utilize Multiple Servers and Cloud Protection: Using multiple servers and cloud-based services can provide additional layers of protection against DDoS attacks. Cloud providers offer advanced security features and greater bandwidth, allowing healthcare systems to handle increased traffic better and maintain stability during an attack.
- Implement Best Security Practices: Healthcare organizations should enforce strong password policies and multi-factor authentication systems to secure their networks further. Educating staff about recognizing the signs of a cyberattack and reporting any suspicious activity is also crucial in preventing security risks.
- Conduct Regular Security Assessments: Performing security assessments at regular intervals can help healthcare providers identify vulnerabilities in their networks and address any gaps in their security systems before they can be exploited by cybercriminals.
Insider Threats
Healthcare insider threats are a significant concern in the healthcare sector as they can lead to unauthorized access to critical data. These threats typically originate from within healthcare organizations, such as employees, contractors, vendors, or partners who misuse their legitimate access to compromise the integrity of healthcare systems.
To prevent healthcare insider threats, it is essential for healthcare providers to establish robust security measures, including:
- Identify and protect critical assets: Recognize and prioritize the most valuable assets in your healthcare organization, such as patient health information, medical devices, and infrastructure security. Implement appropriate safeguards to protect these assets from unauthorized access or data breaches.
- Create a baseline of normal user behavior: Utilize software systems that track user activities and establish a baseline for normal behavior. This helps identify deviations from the norm, which security teams can flag and investigate.
- Increase visibility: Implement tools that continuously monitor user activity and aggregate information from multiple sources to detect potential security risks. This will help healthcare organizations stay vigilant against both external and internal threats.
- Enforce security policies: Clearly define, document, and communicate security policies to all professionals and stakeholders within the organization. Ensure everyone understands their responsibilities and the consequences of violating these policies.
- Promote a culture of security awareness: Encourage healthcare staff to participate in regular security training and awareness programs. Foster a security-conscious culture that prioritizes protecting sensitive patient data and medical records.
Malware
Cybercriminals use malware to exploit vulnerabilities in healthcare infrastructure. This often leads to ransomware attacks, theft of sensitive data, and fake insurance claims.
If your healthcare organization falls victim to a malware attack, take the following steps:
- Act immediately: Limit the risk of further infection by disconnecting network cables and deactivating Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. Seek professional assistance to remediate the issue.
- Keep your device on: Do not shut down the affected device, as you may lose access to critical systems.
- Report the incident: Notify the relevant authorities, such as the National Cyber Security Centre and Action Fraud, about the attack.
- Preserve evidence: Work with the NCSC, Action Fraud, and other investigating authorities to save any evidence related to the attack.
- Reset credentials: When it is safe to do so, reset your access systems credentials, including passwords. Be careful not to lock yourself out of systems needed for recovery.
Business Email Compromise Scams
Cybercriminals use BEC scams to trick employees or customers into taking actions such as making payments, sharing sensitive information, or divulging confidential data.
According to the FBI, there are five main types of BEC scams: Account Compromise, Attorney Impersonation, CEO Fraud, Data Theft, and Fake Invoice Scams. These scams exploit human vulnerabilities rather than relying on digital tools like malware or viruses, making them difficult to detect or prevent with traditional security tools.
To protect against BEC scams, healthcare organizations should adopt the following best practices:
- Implement a robust cybersecurity training program: Educate employees on social engineering techniques, how to identify unusual requests, proper processes and procedures for financial transactions and vendor invoices, and how to recognize spoofed email addresses or domains.
- Adopt a Zero Trust strategy: Require all users to be authenticated and authorized before granting access to applications and data. Utilize risk-based multi-factor authentication, identity protection, next-generation endpoint security, and robust cloud workload technology.
- Monitor the deep and dark web for signs of compromise: Use dark web monitoring tools to find leaked or stolen information, such as compromised passwords, breached credentials, and other sensitive data shared or sold among malicious actors.
- Inventory actors who leverage BEC as an attack technique: Partner with a trusted cybersecurity solution provider to identify and analyze adversaries that use BEC scams, focusing on those most likely to impact your organization.
- Implement an incident response (IR) plan: Establish a framework to prepare for, detect, contain, and recover from data breaches. Follow well-respected IR frameworks like those developed by NIST and SANS to build a comprehensive incident response plan.
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Consequences of Healthcare Cybersecurity Attacks
There are four consequences to healthcare cybersecurity attacks:
Loss of Confidential Patient Information
Loss of confidential patient information can have serious consequences for both patients and healthcare organizations. Patients may be at risk of identity theft, fraud, or other types of financial crimes. Healthcare organizations may be subject to federal penalties and damages.
Disruptions to Patient Care
Cyber threats can have a profound impact on patient care. They can disrupt hospital operations, leading to delays in care, diverted resources, and increased costs. In some cases, healthcare cybersecurity threats can even put patients’ lives at risk.
Financial Losses
There is no question that healthcare cybersecurity threats are becoming more and more common. But what many people don’t realize is that these attacks can have a serious financial impact on a company.A recent study by IBM found that the average cost of a cyber attack is over $4 million. This can include the cost of investigating the attack, repairing any damage, and lost productivity. And that’s not even taking into account the potential damage to a company’s reputation.
Damage to Reputation
Cyber attacks can do more than just harm your business financially – they can also damage your reputation. In today’s digital age, news of a cyber attack can spread quickly and widely, often before you’ve even had a chance to assess the damage. This can lead to customers and clients losing trust in your company and its ability to protect their data. It’s important to act quickly and decisively if you do suffer a cyber attack. Not only do you need to mitigate the damage, but you also need to manage the public’s perception of the incident.
Best Practices for Preventing Cyber Attacks in Healthcare
Follow these best practices to help establish a more secure medical data system and prevent data breach.
Implement Strong Cybersecurity Measures
Implementing strong cybersecurity measures is critical for any business today. With the increasing number of healthcare cybersecurity threats, it is more important than ever to take steps to protect your data and your customers’ data. There are a number of things you can do to improve your cybersecurity, and we’ve outlined some of the most important measures below.
- Train your employees in cybersecurity best practices.
- Implement robust password policies.
- Use two-factor authentication.
- Encrypt all data.
- Regularly test your system for vulnerabilities.
- Have a plan in place for responding to a breach.
By taking these steps, you can help to ensure that your business is protected from the threats of the digital world.
Train Employees on Cybersecurity Awareness
Cybersecurity is one of the most important issues facing businesses today. As more and more businesses move their operations online, they are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This makes it all the more important to train employees on cybersecurity awareness. There are a few key things employees should be trained on, including how to spot a phishing email, how to create strong passwords, and how to safeguard company data. By educating employees on these topics, you can help reduce the risk of a cyber attack and keep your business safe.
Conduct Regular Cybersecurity Assessments
Conducting regular cybersecurity assessments is essential for any organization that wants to ensure its data and systems are secure. By assessing your cybersecurity posture regularly, you can identify weaknesses and take steps to address them before they are exploited. There are several different ways to conduct a cybersecurity assessment, but the most important thing is to ensure that you are covering all the key areas. Some of the key areas you should assess include your network security, your data security, and your overall security posture.
Develop a Comprehensive Incident Response Plan
A comprehensive incident response plan is essential for any organization that wants to be prepared for a security breach. But what exactly should be included in such a plan? At a minimum, a good incident response plan should address the following key points:
- Notification: Who needs to be notified in the event of a security incident?
- Assessment: How will you assess the scope and impact of the incident?
- Containment: How will you contain the incident and prevent it from spreading?
- Eradication: How will you remove the malicious code or content from your systems?
- Recovery: How will you recover your systems and data after the incident?
- Lessons Learned: What can you learn from the incident to prevent it from happening again in the future?
Developing a comprehensive incident response plan is a vital part of security planning.
Protect Your Healthcare Institution from Cybersecurity Threats
While there are many different cybersecurity threats in healthcare, the most common ones include viruses, malware, and phishing attacks. These threats can have a devastating effect on healthcare organizations, so it is important to be aware of them and take steps to protect your organization.
Safeguard your healthcare institution from cybersecurity threats by partnering with Oppos. As a leading expert in healthcare cybersecurity, Oppos offers comprehensive assessments, penetration testing, and employee training to ensure your organization stays protected. Don’t leave your institution’s sensitive data at risk; trust Oppos to help you implement the most advanced security measures tailored to your unique needs. Contact Oppos today to schedule a consultation and experience the peace of mind of a secure and resilient healthcare environment.
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Healthcare Cybersecurity Threats FAQS
Some of the most common threats include ransomware, phishing attacks, general malware, DDos attacks and insider threats.
A common example is a ransomware attack, where attackers encrypt all data in the victim company and demand a ransom payment to decrypt the data.
To prevent healthcare cybersecurity threats, it is crucial to implement strong security measures, train employees on cybersecurity awareness, conduct regular assessments, and develop a comprehensive incident response plan.
The most important aspect of cybersecurity is typically providing your staff with proper cybersecurity awareness training.
