A new survey by cybersecurity vendor Netwrix found that 84% of healthcare organizations spotted a cyberattack in the past twelve months, with phishing attacks accounting for 63% of these incidents.
“Phishing was the most common type of incident experienced on premises, similar to other industries,” Netwrix says.
“Account compromise topped the list for cloud attacks: 74% of healthcare organizations that spotted a cyberattack reported user or admin account compromise.”
These cyberattacks resulted in financial damage for 69% of healthcare organizations, compared to 60% in industries. Additionally, 19% of the incidents led to lawsuits. Ilia Sotnikov, Security Strategist at Netwrix, pointed out that the sensitive, highly regulated nature of the healthcare industry makes it more prone to lawsuits following data breaches.
“Due to the sensitivity of the protected health information (PHI) data, breaches can cause severe concerns among the general public and various stakeholders,” Sotnikov said. “On top of that, healthcare is a highly regulated industry where organizations face strict penalties for non-compliance.
Together, these factors lead to a higher-than-average likelihood of lawsuits. At the same time, organizations can feel pressured to change IT or even executive leadership to signal their commitment to addressing security issues and rebuilding trust.”
Dirk Schrader, VP of Security Research at Netwrix, noted that the urgency often involved in healthcare work is one factor that leads to a higher number of security incidents in this sector.
“Healthcare workers regularly communicate with many people they do not know — patients, laboratory assistants, external auditors, and more — so properly vetting every message is a huge burden,” Schrader stated. “Plus, they do not realize how critical it is to be cautious, since security awareness training often takes a back seat to the urgent work of taking care of patients. Combined, these factors can lead to a higher rate of security incidents.”
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