Cyberattacks on the Healthcare Sector

The healthcare sector is a common target for cybercriminals. In fact, according to Check Point Research (CPR), healthcare organizations experienced 1,426 attacks per week in 2022. This is a 60% increase over the previous year, and many of the largest attacks of the year targeted healthcare organizations.

In many cases, cyberattacks against healthcare organizations carried a high cost for organizations, with the cost of a data breach growing by 42% over the past two years. According to the Cost of a Data Breach Report, healthcare continues to have the highest data breach cost of any industry, averaging $10.10 million per incident.

Ransomware is another common and pricy threat to healthcare organizations. In the third quarter of 2022, 1 out of every 42 healthcare organizations was the victim of a ransomware attack.

Read the Report Read More

Why Healthcare is a Leading Target for Cybercriminals

The healthcare industry is one of the most targeted industries for cyber threat actors. This focus on healthcare by cybercriminals may be influenced by a few different factors, including:

Sensitive Data: Healthcare organizations have access to a wide range of sensitive data, including patients’ health information and payment card data. Such a valuable trove of data centralized in one location is an ideal target for cybercriminals.
Critical Infrastructure: Ransomware groups prefer to target organizations that are likely to pay the ransom. Healthcare organizations provide critical care and need to restore operations as quickly as possible, making them likely to meet attackers’ demands.
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT): Healthcare organizations are increasingly reliant on networked devices to provide care. Often, these devices have poor security, providing attackers with easier access to sensitive data and the organization’s networks.

Common Cyber Threats For the Healthcare industry

Healthcare organizations face a wide variety of cyber threats. Some of the common attacks targeting healthcare organizations include the following:

Data Breaches: Healthcare organizations store large amounts of sensitive data about their patients and research. Data theft is a common goal of attackers targeting healthcare organizations.
Ransomware: Healthcare organizations are heavily reliant on their data and networked systems to provide care. Ransomware attacks can hold these systems hostage until the organization meets the attacker’s demands.
Malware: Beyond ransomware, healthcare organizations can be infected with various types of malware. For example, infostealer malware can collect and exfiltrate login credentials that grant attackers access to healthcare systems.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): A DDoS attack uses a network of compromised systems to bombard a target with more traffic than it can handle. Like a ransomware attack, a DDoS attacker may demand a ransom to restore an organization’s operations.
Phishing: Phishing attacks are designed to trick the recipient into handing over sensitive information or infecting their system with malware. This is a common first step for data breaches, ransomware, and similar attacks.
Account Takeover: Account takeover attacks take advantage of weak passwords or ones compromised via phishing and other attacks. With access to a legitimate user account, an attacker can access and steal sensitive data, plant ransomware, or take other malicious actions.

Securing the Healthcare Industry

Healthcare organizations have extremely valuable data, and the growing complexity of healthcare IT networks provides cyber threat actors with a variety of potential attack vectors.

Healthcare organizations struggle with many of the same security challenges as companies in other industries. Security teams are overwhelmed by large volumes of security data and are responsible for monitoring and protecting a diverse mix of IT solutions. Often, this task is complicated by an array of point security products that are complex to monitor and manage.

Healthcare CISOs looking to ensure that their organizations are protected against cyber threats must focus on simplifying the problem that their security teams face. A consolidated security platform that integrates security functionality and centralizes security monitoring and management is crucial to achieving this goal.

Cybersecurity for Healthcare with Check Point

Healthcare organizations face sophisticated cyber threats and are prime targets for cybercriminals. Protecting against these threats requires cybersecurity solutions designed to prevent zero-day and fifth-generation cyber threats and help ensure HIPAA compliance.

Check Point Infinity architecture provides a consolidated security architecture backed by Check Point’s ThreatCloud AI. ThreatCloud AI offers real-time access to threat intelligence that provides much-needed visibility into the latest cyber threat campaigns.

Check Point Infinity ELA simplifies security license management by offering full access to Check Point security solutions under a single corporate enterprise license agreement (ELA). With Infinity ELA, healthcare organizations can access the security capabilities that they need to protect against rapidly evolving cyber threats.

Learn more about the benefits of Infinity ELA by checking out the Infinity ELA product brochure. If you’d like more information on how Infinity ELA can help to simplify, strengthen, and streamline your organization’s cybersecurity, sign up for a free consultation today.