Cyber attacks in the healthcare industry have increased at an alarming rate because of the global pandemic. As the health sector worldwide is struggling to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cybercriminals are leaving no stone unturned to target the hospitals and in this phase, trustworthy cybersecurity services can protect them.
According to researchers, cybercrime in the healthcare sector has increased by 45% globally. Why is this alarming? Because the cyberattacks doubled during the pandemic, and all the primary data like personal data, medical data, and security credentials are not secured.
The surging growth in cybercrime targeting the industry has put the personal data of the patients in danger. Cyberattacks in the healthcare industry are of particular concern because they are not just attacks; in fact, they directly threaten the safety of the patients.
Health organizations are prime targets for cybercriminals. The increase in the number of healthcare-related cyber-attacks is an indication that healthcare industries need to invest in cybersecurity services.
Many healthcare organizations can use cybersecurity solutions to curb the exacerbated spectrum of cyber threats. Unfortunately, more and more financially motivated criminal groups are continuing to target the sector, mainly ransomware. Many hospitals have complained about ransomware attacks where they had to pay a whopping amount to the cybercriminals.
In the year 2020, a report by DBIR suggested that the healthcare sector has experienced 59% internal breaches, 42% external breaches. Therefore, the whole cybersecurity community has to come together to support the sector as a pandemic is going nowhere.
Here are the top reasons why the healthcare industry critically requires cybersecurity services.
Ransomware alone continues to contribute more than 70% of the malware incidents in the healthcare domain, and it will continue to haunt the sector in the coming time as well. Therefore, Healthcare organizations need to identify their own weakness as the impact of ransomware can be harmful as it can leave the information of thousands of patients in troubled waters.
One of the easiest ways to spread the attack is by using phishing. By using phishing, cybercriminals can gain unauthorized access to internal systems. Later on, these can be used to install spyware, ransomware, and other malicious software to steal confidential data. The Healthcare sector is more vulnerable to phishing attacks considering the data.
According to a report by McAfee, only 7% of cloud services meet comprehensive security requirements. However, cyber security consulting services can help companies to maintain a secure cloud.
The healthcare industry is a new target for cybercriminals, and they are attacking the industry for the enormous volumes of valuable and sensitive data. Many healthcare providers lack the primary cybersecurity resources and skills to prevent these attacks. Well, it is high time that the industry engages with proficient security services providers and leverages their security expertise.
