Escalating Cyberattacks on Healthcare Organizations Highlight Need for Security Interventions

Protecting patient data from unauthorized access has long been a regulatory prerequisite for healthcare organizations. But increasingly, cybercriminals see profit potential in attacking and crippling their networks, and restoring operations carry a high cost, both in the expense of repairing IT capabilities, as well as lost revenue, productivity hits, and erosion of community trust.

More broadly, attacks are being aimed at the entire healthcare sector, according to reports from Microsoft. The technology company reported that it had detected cyberattacks from three nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.

To effectively protect critical systems and private health information, healthcare organizations need to develop customized approaches, utilizing the latest techniques, tools, and technical expertise from outside the organization to understand vulnerabilities and develop an actionable remediation plan.