Navigating the complexities of healthcare cybersecurity

Taking a methodical approach to healthcare cybersecurity

News By Rajan Kohli published 27 September 2024

With cyberattacks skyrocketing at an alarming rate, healthcare organizations are scrambling to implement effective measures to prevent these threats. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over the past four years, healthcare data breaches have increased by 239% and ransomware attacks increased by 278%. IBM’s 2023 Cost of Data Breach Study revealed that in 2023 alone, over 88 million individuals were affected by security breaches, underscoring the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures.

Despite the clear and present danger, the healthcare industry continues to struggle with implementing effective cybersecurity practices. Whether it was the Tricare data breach in 2011, Shields Healthcare in 2022 or most recently with United Healthcare, these high-profile attacks have caused significant disruption, financial deficits and loss of patients’ trust whose personal information was accessed. Healthcare is a critical part of everyday life, so why have organizations been slow to adopt better solutions?

The answer may seem simple, but it is quite complex. Healthcare is a highly regulated industry with slim operating margins. The cost of just one breach is nearly $11 million according to IBM’s 2023 Cost of A Data Breach Study. Thus, organizations are taking a methodical approach to implementing security frameworks by establishing a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), internal team and consulting partner as a foundational layer. From there, fundamental cybersecurity practices like vigilant patch management, mitigation of software supply chain risks, deployment of antivirus solutions, and ongoing employee training are built into the framework.

Rajan Kohli

CEO of CitiusTech.

Key steps for healthcare enterprise security

Even with a dedicated security team and framework in place, healthcare organizations face challenges due to stringent regulatory compliance guidelines, the sensitive nature of patient data, a complex, interdependent ecosystem of providers, cloud and AI technology adoption and more. There are five imperatives that organizations can take to reduce the risk of a cyberattack.

1. Locking down the cloud

With more data being stored off-premise, it is essential that healthcare IT teams follow regulatory requirements in creating a security control framework that outlines how data is sent to the cloud, the encryption format and who has access to it. While cloud service providers may provide security measures for keeping data secure, integrating further controls is essential. This can be done through automating security in Dev SecOps or control for multi-cloud scenarios in case of a failure or attack. Physical security at the data center location is equally important as HCA Healthcare discovered. In 2023 a theft at an external storage location leaked over 11 million records containing patient contact information and upcoming appointment dates.

Organizations must prioritize the formulation of comprehensive data retention strategies and contingency plans. It is vital to conduct comprehensive security reviews of the architecture of their cloud-deployed and publicly exposed applications. Resilient cloud-based solutions tailored to combat ransomware attacks swiftly and facilitate the swift restoration of normal operations safeguard both operations and the interests of patients.

2. Eliminating unpatched device risk

A healthcare system consists of multiple devices from laptops to MRIs to patient monitors. An IT team is responsible for protecting each of these endpoints as well as the various software programs of electronic medical records and insurance payment systems. This equates to thousands, if not millions, of points of entries an attacker could target. Updating legacy systems and pinpointing un-patched aging vulnerabilities must be one of the first steps. Teams can create a close ended governance program for finding and fixing these areas, prioritized by level of risk.

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