Protecting your practice from cybersecurity threats is more important now than ever before. Cyberthreats are on the rise with new and old tactics being used to steal precious information and shut down healthcare facilities. Learn about the most common cybersecurity threats targeting the healthcare industry so you can avoid them and recover quickly if needed.
Phishing
Phishing is the most prevalent cybersecurity threat in healthcare. These seemingly innocent emails can appear to come from co-workers or even well-known medical distributors, but they include malicious links that can damage your entire system once opened. Ransomware, data breaches, and DDoS attacks can all be delivered to your practice through phishing emails, making them extremely harmful and unpredictable.
Malicious links aren’t the only way these hackers steal from you though. Some cybercriminals will use social phishing where they pose as someone you know asking for information or money. These tricky emails can come from a new email address or your acquaintance’s actual email, meaning their account has been hacked. A common social phishing example involves you receiving an email from your boss asking you to buy gift cards for the company and send them the codes. Of course, this email isn’t actually from your boss and the only thing you’ll get out of this is stress and lost money. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to defend yourself against these cybersecurity threats.
To protect your practice from phishing, you must train all your staff members on how to spot this kind of cybersecurity threat. For example, if you receive an email with an unknown link from someone you know, contact them through a different channel to confirm if that message was really from them. There are often inconsistencies or misspellings in the email domain, sender name, or message content as well, so be sure to read all your emails carefully. These are just a few signs to look out for, but with cybercriminals finding new ways to attack every day you need to have an IT team you can trust to protect your entire practice.
Ransomware
According to the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, the number of global ransomware attacks rose 74% in 2023 compared to 2022. Healthcare facilities in particular are being targeted by these cybersecurity threats. Because these organizations deliver necessary care to patients, they cannot risk losing valuable data and systems, making them more likely to pay ransoms from cybercriminals.
Ransomware can infect your system like any other type of malware, through malicious links, hacking, or stolen account credentials. This type of malware infects and encrypts sensitive data so you can’t access it until the ransom is paid. For practices with electronic health records (EHRs) this is devastating. Once access to your EHRs is shut down, patients’ records are unavailable, including prescription and dosing information which is crucial for patient care. This often leads to patients being sent to other healthcare locations, bringing your practice to a complete halt.
Data Breaches
Data breaches are a growing cybersecurity threat to the healthcare industry. This is largely due to the increase in cloud storage. While it is convenient for healthcare professionals to access patient information from anywhere, this technology has also given cybercriminals a larger target.
Practices typically use multiple cloud vendors and services with varying security standards and applications. This mishmash of cybersecurity protocols makes it difficult to apply a consistent protection policy across the cloud-based storage system. As a result, there are often protection gaps that cyberthreats can sneak through and gain full access to your patients’ sensitive information. This is why you must have a strong IT team like Strategy IT to constantly monitor and guard your data against any breaches.
Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks
Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are becoming stronger with the help of aggressive bots. This cybersecurity threat uses AI to flood your servers with fake connection requests, eventually forcing your practice to go offline. Now your real human patients are unable to access crucial services offered on your site. Even worse, these bad bots can help cybercriminals create or hack into accounts and gain access to sensitive information.
The best way to prepare for and prevent this type of cybersecurity threat is to identify areas of risk early on. Determine which services and devices may be exposed to the public internet and any glaring vulnerabilities. Preparing for all possible scenarios and creating a strong contingency plan for DDoS attacks is the best way to defend your practice’s systems.
Strengthen Your Cybersecurity with Strategy IT
Don’t be caught unaware, stay up to date on the most common cybersecurity threats to the healthcare industry. Once you know how cybercriminals can hack into your system you can better guard those areas. However, ransomware, data breaches, DDoS attacks, and phishing are increasing in persistence and skill, making it difficult to monitor and protect your systems on your own.
Strategy IT is here to help. Our IT experts can train your team on the best cybersecurity tactics and constantly scan your network for vulnerabilities or breaches. Book a conversation today and let us take care of the cyberthreats so you can take care of your patients.
