Healthcare Industry A Prey Of Cyber Criminals

The healthcare industry is amongst the most targeted industries which face cyber-attacks. There are numerous reasons why the healthcare industry is the main target of cybercriminals. As per the stats recorded in 2018, almost 40 percent of healthcare firms were attacked every day or daily by hackers. Due to improved digitization and everything going digital in the healthcare industry the chances of cyber-attacks have increased at an exponential rate. This is because of multiple factors ranging from integration of IoT technology to Electronic Health Record Systems and migration to cloud servers.

On daily basis healthcare industries face bot attacks which are dangerous and damaging to the healthcare sector. Cybercriminals can create a shattering dent in the fiscal performance of the health sector if they are not taken seriously.

Taking Care Of the Vulnerabilities:

According to multiple reports and statistical data, it has been witnessed that over the last few years the health sector has observed a major hike in bot and malware attacks. The healthcare sector is more vulnerable to DDoS attacks because the increase in the use of medical IoT devices is witnessed. Hackers launch coordinated attacks by manipulating infected IoT devices in botnets.

Over the year, ransomware attacks have reduced but hackers are continuously busy in targeting the healthcare sector. Another key concern is the fear of cryptomining; there’s a rise in the cases where businesses have faced cryptomining. The healthcare industry is currently frightened by ransomware. If the precautions will not be taken then there is a high probability that the healthcare sector will face a huge financial loss because of cybercriminals and this will lead to loss of millions of dollars and reputational losses.

Why Healthcare Sector?

After reading all this, you must be wondering why healthcare industry is becoming the prey of hackers and why cybercriminals are after this very industry! The answer to this question is very simple, the reason behind the majority of hacking attacks is only one and that is monetary gain. Similarly, it is expected that by the end of 2026 healthcare spending will consume 20% of GDP – that in itself is quite a heavy sum of money for which cybercriminals are finding ways to penetrate by one way or the other. According to a few reports, the value of medical records on Darknet is way too much than that of passcodes and plastic money details.

How To Secure Healthcare Organizations?

In the digital age the importance of data security and digital assets cannot be questioned. They both are of high significance. Businesses around the world are trying to secure their assets and systems. With the help of security providing companies this challenge can be overcome. In today’s time, just like any other business, hospitals and healthcare organizations are widely targeted by hackers. So, opt for security packages from reliable security providers.

The million dollar question is “How to keep financial sector away and secure from cybercriminals’ attacks?” Well, the following can be a few steps that can help in saving the healthcare organizations from hackers.

In order to minimize, stop and diminish DDoS attacks you should take the following measures;

• Constantly observe and skim for vulnerable and comprised IoT devices on the networks and take care of proper corrective arrangements.
• Install a reliable and strong firewall which proper configuration to filter the incoming traffic and keeping it clean from all malicious traces.
• Update and install anti-virus programs for increased security.
• It is highly recommended to disable universal plug and play on routers; this practice can only be followed if needed necessarily, else skip it.
• Generate and apply password management strategies and processes for devices and their employers or customers; make sure that all default passwords are modified to strong passwords.

Desperate times need desperate measures; it is about time that healthcare organizations start taking cyber security seriously. If this will be taken seriously then there is a high chance that cybercriminals will attack the organizations and significant data-losses will be faced.