A leading healthcare technology & business solutions company was recently targeted by a notorious ransomware group, resulting in the group demanding a significant ransom to restore the company’s services online.
For any healthcare organization storing sensitive patient data, this cyber-attack should serve as a sobering reminder of the increasing frequency of data breaches throughout the healthcare sector. In fact, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently reported the healthcare sector suffered 249 reported ransomware attacks in 2023—31 more than the second most attacked Critical Manufacturing sector and more than double the reported attacks against the financial services sector.
As a result, strictly satisfying security prerequisites is no longer a tenable defense policy if you’re an organization operating within the world of healthcare. The medical sector’s cyber-attack rate demands an excessive amount of vigilance, as cybercriminals are disproportionally targeting the industry due to its large-scale use of disparate IT systems and low tolerance for disruption due to the patients that rely on its services.
In response to this ransomware attack, all healthcare entities should review their business contingency plans, invest in robust ransomware protection, and conduct routine vulnerability assessments and penetration scans to fortify their security against attack vectors cybercriminals can exploit. Enhancing security posture helps better protect sensitive patient information and critical systems from current and future threats.