Cybersecurity in healthcare has emerged as a critical domain, safeguarding sensitive patient data, medical records, and the integrity of healthcare systems against a myriad of digital threats. As the healthcare industry increasingly adopts digital technologies, more clinicians and patients rely on these digital technologies to deliver life-saving care, assuming that this technology and its security isn’t compromised. While digital transformation has revolutionized the way patients receive care, it has also exposed healthcare organizations to unprecedented cybersecurity risks, including ransomware attacks, data breaches, and identity theft.
While attending the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference in March, cybersecurity was at the forefront of our discussions, suggesting three key takeaways to watch for in 2024 and beyond:
- The threat of AI being used by unfriendly groups to attack healthcare organizations.
- Cyber criminals are turning their attacks toward third-party support companies.
- Independent and community-connected practices are more at risk for cyber-attacks.
First, let’s discuss the threat that AI poses when used to attack a health organization. AI-powered cyber-attacks use machine learning to analyze a human or machine target and find techniques or patterns that are most likely to help compromise an organization. An example of this would be generating an email based on an employee’s social media profile or using small pieces of information to predict the most vulnerable points in a target system. These attacks tend to be highly targeted and can bypass traditional cybersecurity defense systems.
One of the most concerning threats is the ability of AI to learn and adapt to new defenses. For example, AI has the ability to identify traditional cybersecurity system patterns and learn how to bypass or “outsmart” them. This means organizations must continue to monitor and adapt their defenses with the goal of staying ahead of evolving threats.
Next, cybercriminals are turning their attacks toward third-party companies, in hopes to find a more vulnerable, unexpecting point of entry. This type of attack poses a threat to not only the vendor, but the health organization in which it works with. For example, a cybercriminal may choose this type of breach due to the potential lack of preparedness on the vendor’s part. While it is extremely common for companies to train their employees for potential security threats, with AI involved, threats may seem more and more legitimate, working to the detriment of human reasoning. All it takes is one employee to validate credentials, and the cybercriminal is in. As many vendors have credentials that connect to their partner organizations, this now provides a clear pathway for the cybercriminal to breach their target system.
Lastly, health organizations that are independent or community-connected practices are more at risk for cyberattacks. Generally, this is due to the lack of IT support. Smaller health organizations simply don’t have the resources that larger health systems do, leaving them more vulnerable to attack. Staff at a community-based practice typically do not have the time nor the skillset to maintain and update their systems, which is essential to preventing breaches.
When it comes to protecting your health organization’s legacy data, patient records, and other sensitive information, it is critical to have the right resources and staff in place to prevent successful cyber attacks and exorbitant payouts. It is also important to continue to train your organization on common methods and patterns of cybercriminals.
As you examine your health organization’s data security, are there any weak points? Maybe you’ve even experienced an attack before. If you’re looking to improve your security efforts with a partner who understands your specific needs, HCTec is here to help. As a third-party vendor, we understand the trust that our clients put in us to keep their systems safe. This is why our in-house cybersecurity experts provide 24x7x365 monitoring of systems, ensuring your patients and staff remain safe. Each month we prevent dozens of security breaches for our clients, preserving their sensitive data, and evolving our security methods to stay ahead of cyberattacks. Our highly trained and experienced support teams will keep your HIT goals moving forward, and keep cybercriminals out.
To learn more about HCTec security and solutions, and how we’ll keep your patient and staff lives secure, contact us today.