We recognize that the lives of your patients come first, and that data security ought to be the least of your concerns. Nevertheless, because healthcare businesses hold so much valuable data and your IT networks are becoming more complicated, hackers have a wide range of potential attack vectors at their disposal. According to Check Point Research, healthcare organizations actually saw 1,426 attacks weekly in 2022. The average cost per occurrence for a data breach is highest in the healthcare sector of all industries.
Now this information is very alarming that recently, experts in the healthcare sector warned U.S. senators about the significance of cybersecurity in the industry. In a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on March 16, witnesses highlighted the seriousness of cyberattacks on healthcare systems, how they can have an impact on patient care as well as compromise sensitive medical information, and how they are an issue that appears to be getting worse. According to recent studies, since 2016, ransomware assaults on American hospitals have increased.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said this in his opening statement: “Healthcare is a rapidly growing sector of our economy that employs more than 18 million workers, and is made up of both public and private sector organizations related to patient services, medical devices and manufacturers, and electronic health and medical records, that store considerable amounts of personal information, making them frequent targets of attacks.” Peters is the committee’s chair. Cyberattacks on hospitals and other healthcare facilities can seriously disrupt their operations and make it difficult for them to deliver the vital, life-saving treatment that their patients need. Sensitive personal and medical information about patients and medical professionals may also be exposed as a result of breaches.
Being part of the latest federal funding package, a clause written by Senators Peters and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to strengthen the nation’s capacity to tackle cybersecurity threats against critical infrastructure was signed into law. In accordance with the rule, operators and owners of critical infrastructure must notify the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within 24 hours of paying a ransom and within 72 hours of experiencing a significant cyberattack.
As Peters stated during the hearing, “this law will help ensure that government is able to better track cybersecurity threats to our critical infrastructure, provide more transparency and situational awareness for our cybersecurity defenses, and enable CISA to warn potential victims of ongoing attacks, so they know if they could be a target next.”
The current hearing also made clear why attacks on rural healthcare providers are particularly risky. Budgetary restrictions and a lack of cybersecurity staffing were noted as significant difficulties by Kate Pierce of Fortified Health Security during her testimony.
According to Pierce’s observations, the majority of smaller facilities either have no staff members specifically assigned to cybersecurity or have a very small number of such employees.
We know how difficult it is for companies to keep up with the ever changing technology, let alone the growing cyberthreats. It is challenging to think about your cybersecurity demands while trying to expand your firm. But as for the recent warnings, it is time you need to consider having a robust cybersecurity for your healthcare business.
Prevention is always better than cure. To find out more about how we can make your healthcare facility secured, talk to us today.
