Cybersecurity Is the Most Vulnerable Security Threat for the Medical Health Sector in 2022

ECRI is a non-profit organization that assesses medical devices for their efficacy and safety. The organization has recently placed cybersecurity at the top of the list that explains most critical MedTech concerns for the year 2022. The results are derived by analyzing problem reports obtained by ECRI. The other criteria were the medical device tests conducted. ECRI has been involved in the process of enhancing the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare across the entire healthcare space. 

A January 2022 released report by ECRI places cybersecurity at the top of the list of most impactful medical concerns for the current year. This is due to the fact cyber-attacks on healthcare enterprises continue to impact the healthcare sector—a report by IBM seconds the opinions of ECRI. The IBM report shows that the ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry doubled during the period between 2021 and 2022.

Cyber-attacks continue to exhibit an upward trend into 2022 as well. Besides impacting patient care, cyber-attacks affect data systems of medical devices or even hospitals associated with a hospital network. Cyber-attacks are common everywhere. However, when cyber-attacks are a significant part of the healthcare sector, the challenges encountered are pretty unique and often go beyond privacy breaches and financial losses.

The healthcare industry has been experiencing a wide range of cybersecurity-connected issues. These could be malware, DDos, data breaches, and so on. There have been several critical malware attacks that compromise the integrity of health care systems besides patients’ privacy. The most evident impact of a DDoS attack is a disturbance in the capacity of facilities to extent excellent patient care.

It appears that every other day a new healthcare facility is in the news for data breach incidents. The Healthcare industry is sure to face data breach incidents throughout 2022.

PHI or Personal Health Information is in high demand in the healthcare industry black market. As a result, cybercriminals who target PHI are given more incentives. This PHI is then sold or leveraged for personal gains.

Basically, the term ransomware refers to a type of malware that can compromise files and systems and render them utterly inaccessible until a certain ransom is paid. Unlike other sectors, the healthcare industry may have to face a unique set of challenges due to ransomware. For instance, critical processes are either turned totally inoperable or slowed down slightly. In addition, hospitals have to rely on traditional methods, which may further slow down healthcare delivery compared to today’s requirements.

DDoS attacks which are the Distributed Denial of Service comprise popular procedures, techniques, or tactics used by activists and cyber attackers to falter a network to make it inoperable. A few of the DDoS attacks are accidental or opportunistic in nature. However, many of them target victims with a specific cause, which could be financial, political, or even social.

Insider cyber-attacks are another reason for concern. Perhaps cyber-attacks through insiders can be more harmful. The fundamental reason is the legitimate access they have to the critical data without having to face any cybersecurity defense employed by an enterprise.