Hospital hacks are becoming increasingly common. Breaches come in the form of data leaks or ransomware, each of which the cyber attacker demands payment to rectify.
In 2021, there were an average of 59 data breaches each month and 712 healthcare data breaches reported for the year. Here is a look at some of them:
There are dozens of other stories.
In many instances, these hospitals already had healthcare cybersecurity measures in place. But as is often the case, hackers tricked employees into handing over sensitive information, giving them access to hospital systems.
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities have been scrambling for healthcare cybersecurity companies to manage their healthcare IT security. Although there are industry standards, cybersecurity in healthcare remains a race to keep up with the latest exploits.
The chief standard to which US healthcare facilities are held is HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which stipulates security standards for patient data. These standards, however, are not designed to protect hospital cyber systems operations.
Another standard which many healthcare organizations seek to meet are the NIST standards. NIST standards exist for many industries and are specifically geared towards protecting IT systems from cyberattacks.
There are other cybersecurity frameworks as well such as HITRUST, ISO, and COBIT. Each of these has their advantages and disadvantages. With any cybersecurity improvement, there is usually a sacrifice in efficiency or accessibility.
Choosing the cybersecurity framework that is right for your healthcare facilities often requires consulting with cybersecurity experts. However, no matter what standards you adhere to, they cannot substitute for good cybersecurity training among staff.
Cybersecurity is a practice, not a configuration, and is only as good as your organization’s adherence to it. With newly emerging threats every day, this means continuing education on the latest cybersecurity threats.
With the rise in cyberattacks on healthcare institutions, it is becoming increasingly apparent that cybercriminals do not consider the ethics of the targets they select. No longer can hospitals assume that no one would ever attack them.
In today’s world of internet-connected everything, the entire infrastructure of hospitals are now vulnerable to cyber attackers. Securing all of that infrastructure is simply too large of a task for a hospital to handle without trained and certified cybersecurity expertise.
Because hospital budgets are often tight, healthcare providers are turning to managed services providers (MSPs) rather than opting for an in-house IT staff. MSPs manage your IT infrastructure, ensuring that systems are secure and operating normally.
Foresite has a full suite of services to ensure that your systems are secure. We provide our clients with penetration testing, cloud security, network monitoring, ongoing education, and more, ensuring a secure network. Our clients also receive our proprietary ProVision security software.
In the 21st century, hospitals are sitting targets for criminals trying to make a dirty dollar. At Foresite, our certified experts will seal your IT infrastructure from cybercriminals. We can proudly say that we’ve never had a breach. Get the security you can trust. Get in touch today.