Unfortunately, with the digitalisation ofhealthcare, this sector is also becoming an increasingly important target forcybercriminals. According to a report from 2022, the number of cyberattackstargeting healthcare institutions increased by 74 percent worldwide compared to2021. Therefore, operators in the sector need to take security precautions thatwill make it more difficult for even the most determined hackers to operate.
The security challenges are particularlycomplex in the critical infrastructure sector of healthcare, where theprotection of sensitive data requires a multi-dimensional strategy, as thesector is at the forefront of cybercriminal targets. Hackers use the dataobtained in attacks to extort large sums of money from institutions or tradeinformation on the dark web. In the event of a malicious data breach,organisations need to react quickly and have extensive recovery capabilities.Healthcare organisations should therefore systematically implement securitycontrols, encryption and anti-virus, and prioritise the use of monitoringsoftware in their strategic initiatives to rapidly identify and intervene inattacks.
To protect data in the healthcare sector, azero-trust model should be introduced, which treats all access as adversarialuntil verification proves otherwise. At the same time, it is essential tosystematically back up data. Ideally, organisations should be able to detectand eliminate threats before they gain access to their network environment orsensitive data. In the event that ransomware does get through, or criticalsystems are accessed, backups can help restore and continue operations.However, it is important that this is done in a strictly controlledenvironment, using the zero-trust principle, to ensure that unauthorisedparties do not gain access to the data.
ViVeTech provides professional assistance to critical infrastructure operators in building and operating security systemsand protecting data.
Source: Intelligenthealth.tech
