The Challenges Of Cybersecurity During Global Mass Vaccination Programmes

For many of us 2021 feels like a lot like 2020 with lockdowns imposed and hospital pressures increasing. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel with several vaccines now being rolled-out globally, says Dr Saif Abed, founding partner, AbedGraham.

The mass vaccine roll-out across the world offers hope that by the summer we will see a glimmer of normality start to return to our lives. However, until then we also have to consider the profound challenges of delivering and administering vaccines at scale. The logistical hurdles have been well documented but the cybersecurity risks less so and that’s what I want to shed light on.

Clinical and organisational risks

There are two areas that concern me in particular. First is the persistence of legacy technology (e.g. workstations and network infrastructure) and unpatched devices that abound in most healthcare systems such as the NHS in the UK. The second are the increasing risk profiles associated with network connected medical devices which we can refer to as Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Devices. Taken together these present significant clinical and organisational risks.

For example, a ‘standard’ opportunistic ransomware attack targeting a hospital or vaccination hub that makes patient administration and EMR systems unavailable would significantly disrupt vaccinations simply because patient details could not be validated. Take this a step further with a slightly more targeted attack, and you could see pharmacy systems and IoMT devices such as medication fridges and dispensing