Are you running a healthcare-oriented business? If so, you’re likely focused on new medical studies, improved procedures, and ensuring the comfort of your patients. However, you should also dedicate time to evaluating your cybersecurity readiness. Data breaches and identity theft can be just as dangerous to your clients as viruses or sepsis. How can you address this? Let’s explore.
Healthcare systems are often targeted by cyberattacks. Why are cyberattacks particularly dangerous for healthcare systems? First and foremost, the downtime of a hospital or even a private clinic caused by a cyberattack can put patients’ health and even lives at risk, although deaths resulting from cyberattacks are still rare. When vital systems are disrupted, many lifesaving procedures may be delayed or interrupted. These attacks therefore have a significant psychological impact by instilling fear. The attackers are typically terrorist groups, state-sponsored threat actors, or international crime syndicates.
WannaCry attack of 2017
According to the NHS website, the 2017 WannaCry attack disrupted several critical systems worldwide. Ambulance handover processes and screens were disabled, the Patient Transport Service booking portal was unavailable, CT/MR scans couldn’t be transferred, and even vital procedures and surgeries were affected.
Why was the attack successful? Some organizations failed to install the necessary security patch, despite Microsoft’s prior advisory to do so.
Source of personal data
However, this is not the only reason. Apart from possibly endangering lives, healthcare systems are one of the richest sources of personal data an attacker can harvest. Cybercriminals often target these organizations to steal sensitive patient information, including personal health records, financial details, and other confidential data.
While your credit card number or email credentials sell for surprisingly little money on the dark web, medical records can have 10 times the value, according to the American Hospital Association. Imagine all the information you provide, even to a private clinic for a routine procedure, such as a mole removal, for example.
The clinic gets your name, ID, credit card credentials, phone number, email, and Social Security number. Whoever steals those can quickly cause you great harm, for example via identity theft. To keep their trusting patients safe, clinics should invest in the best possible cybersecurity solutions.
What laws regulate cybersecurity in healthcare?
In the EU, cybersecurity of crucial institutions is guided by the NIS2 Directive. It imposes strict cybersecurity requirements and mandates timely incident reporting. The directive also enhances cooperation between EU countries and introduces penalties for non-compliance, ensuring a higher standard of cybersecurity across sectors like energy, healthcare, transport, and digital services. Similar legislation exists outside the EU, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the USA. Be sure to comply with the relevant regulations in your country to avoid significant fines.
You don’t need to run a hospital for these concerns to apply to you. Even a dentist’s office or a dermatologist’s practice typically collects large amounts of personal data about their patients, making them potential targets for attackers.
Ransomware is another major threat, where attackers encrypt critical data and demand a ransom for its release. Such attacks can disrupt healthcare services, delay patient care, and lead to substantial financial losses.
Nevertheless, you likely don’t want to set up an entire IT department just to manage your cybersecurity. So, what can you do to keep your customers safe?
How security solutions help
To mitigate these risks, healthcare organizations implement various security solutions. Data encryption ensures that even if sensitive data is intercepted, it cannot be read without the decryption key, protecting patient information both in transit and at rest. Endpoint protection provides comprehensive security for all devices, including computers, mobile devices, and medical equipment, preventing malware and other threats from compromising the network.
Access controls restrict access to sensitive data and systems to authorized personnel only, preventing unauthorized access and potential data breaches. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scans help identify and address potential weaknesses in the organization's security posture.
Employee training is crucial in reducing the risk of human error leading to security incidents. Educating healthcare staff about cybersecurity best practices, such as recognizing phishing attempts and using strong passwords, helps create a more secure environment. Additionally, having a robust incident response plan in place ensures that healthcare organizations can quickly and effectively respond to and recover from cyberattacks.
Prevention-first approach
At ESET, we always recommend a prevention-first approach. What does that mean? Essentially, this approach is designed to ensure that an attack is deflected before it even has the chance to strike. To achieve this, we believe the best security solution should have the following qualities:
- One platform, multiple layers: For efficient and straightforward protection, all cybersecurity features should be integrated into a single platform managed from one console. Endpoints, servers, cloud environments, and even features like multifactor authentications should all be centralized for seamless management.
- Third-party compatibility: The solution should work seamlessly with third-party add-ons, allowing for enhanced protection and customization as needed.
- Automation: Updates, patch installations, and vulnerability management should be automated, minimizing the need for manual intervention.
- Complexity reduction: A single-pane-of-glass solution consolidates all functionalities without additional costs or complexity.
- Out-of-the-box readiness: The system should be ready to use immediately, with no need for extensive setup or hours spent configuring your new service.
All these functionalities – and more – are available in our ESET PROTECT platform. It provides an out-of-the-box cybersecurity solution that is easy to manage, covers your entire attack surface, and also gets you ahead of compliance requirements. Should you opt for ESET PROTECT MDR, you can rest even more easily, knowing that there is cybersecurity service combining AI and human expertise for you 24/7.
Built on ESET LiveSense technology, the platform actively detects emerging threats, learns about them, and implements preventive measures to safeguard your systems. In the event of an attack, the platform's multiple layers of protection are designed to stop it at every stage. This allows you to have peace of mind while conducting your daily business.
