Securing patient data is critical in today’s digitally transformed healthcare environment, as the industry faces a silent crisis spreading through coding and computers. Cybercriminals attack healthcare organizations more frequently as they rely more on digital systems to manage vital infrastructure and hold sensitive patient data. Is your healthcare organization ready to prevent this emerging threat and maintain patients’ trust?
In this article, we explain essential safety measures to prevent cyber attacks in healthcare.
Cyber Attacks: What Are They?
Cyberattacks are unauthorized and harmful attempts to use, modify, destroy, disclose, or gain data from any organization’s computer network and system. Intentional, violent acts that aim to steal private patient information, disrupt operations, or inflict other harm on healthcare systems pose serious dangers to patient safety and privacy.
Brett Callow, an analyst for the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, counted 46 cyber attacks in 2023, compared to 25 in 2022.
Why Do Attackers Target Healthcare?
Healthcare organizations claim to provide medical services to individuals to maintain and improve their health. This includes medicinal, preventive, and therapeutic offerings by healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, clinics, and hospitals
Healthcare holds vast amounts of sensitive medical data, making it a prime target for attackers. They target healthcare for:
- Media coverage
- Financial profit
- Social prominence
- Stealing and selling data
- Demanding ransom payments.
- Malicious purposes
10 Common Types of Cyber attacks
Individuals and organizations face various types of cyber attacks, including the following:
Phishing
Phishing is a type of cyberattack where criminals trick victims into revealing sensitive information such as bank details, financial information, passwords, and credit card numbers. Criminals use fake or fraudulent text messages, emails, slips, and posters to accomplish this.
Denial of Service (DoS)
In a DoS attack, criminals make an entire computer system network unavailable. Individuals, groups, or even nation-states can conduct these attacks. Common examples include:
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
- HTTP Flood (application-layer attacks)
- TCP Flood (Network Flood)
Hacking
Hacking involves unauthorized access, disclosure, and destruction of computer data, networks, or electronic systems. Motivations can include financial gain, revenge, or social activism. Activities may include shutting down computer networks, installing viruses, and stealing passwords.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
XSS allows an attacker to inject a script into a website or application. An attacker achieves this by inserting unwanted code into user input fields such as profiles, login details, comment bars, and search boxes.
Whaling
Whaleing targets high-level executives or prominent individuals within an organization. Attackers use fake phone calls, CEO fraud, spearphishing emails, and personalized messages to trick individuals into revealing or stealing sensitive information. Goals of whaling can include financial gain, trade secrets, reputation extortion, and property theft.
Ransomware
Ransomware attacks occur through infected USB drives, drive-by websites, or phishing emails and attachments. In this type of attack, a criminal holds the victim’s data hostage and demands a ransom to restore access.
SQL Injection
SQL injection involves inserting malicious code into the database of a web application. This allows the attacker to access, extract, and delete sensitive data such as credit card numbers and passwords.
9 Tips to Reduce Cyber Attacks for Healthcare
Preventing cyber attacks in healthcare requires a multi-layered approach and careful precautions. Here are a few robust cybersecurity measures that can significantly reduce the risk of cyber attacks:
1. Update software frequently.
Regularly updating software is crucial for preventing cyberattacks. Software updates enhance features, remove outdated code, and optimize performance. These updates often include small security patches that fix vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of exploitation by attackers.
Additionally, updates can improve logging, monitoring, and user interface security.
2. Encrypt sensitive data
Encryption is a critical method for protecting sensitive data in healthcare organizations. It renders data unreadable to unauthorized individuals, making it difficult for attackers and even authorized persons to intercept and read it without the decryption key.
Encryption also helps meet regulatory requirements such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), and PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
3. Train staff
Training healthcare staff to recognize and avoid cyber threats is essential. When employees, staff, and patients know how to identify fake and phishing emails, messages, and data requests and are aware of the latest dangers, they can react appropriately and report suspicious activity. This knowledge significantly reduces the risk of falling victim to cyber attacks
Investing time and money in staff training is a valuable practice that helps protect sensitive information and data from cybercriminals.
4. Verify the sender’s identity.
Verifying the sender’s identity plays a vital role in preventing cyber attacks in healthcare. Verified protocols such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) can achieve this. These measures significantly reduce the risk of CEO fraud, spearphishing, and whaling.
Criminals often send emails with fake sender addresses to steal patient and staff information, a tactic known as email spoofing. By verifying the sender’s identity, we can effectively prevent email spoofing and protect sensitive information.
5. Restrict user accessibility.
Restricting user access to healthcare data can significantly reduce potential entry points for cybercriminals. This approach ensures that users only have access to the resources and data necessary for their job functions. By limiting user access, we improve accountability and minimize data exposure, thereby enhancing overall security. Implementing strict access controls is essential for maintaining a secure healthcare environment.
Prevent Cyber Attacks in Healthcare | TTR Technology
Protecting healthcare data from cyber attacks is essential. Follow these steps to ensure your organization’s data remains secure
- Regularly Schedule Backups: Make it a habit to back up your data frequently. This ensures that in the event of a cyber attack, you can quickly restore critical information and maintain continuity of care.
- Encrypt Sensitive Data: Use strong encryption methods to protect sensitive patient information both in transit and at rest. This adds an extra layer of security, making it difficult for unauthorized parties to access the data.
- Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for all users accessing sensitive systems. This adds a crucial barrier against unauthorized access by verifying identities through multiple factors.
- Train your Staff: Educate your employees about cyber threats and best practices for data protection. Regular training sessions can help staff recognize phishing attempts and other common cyberattack methods.
- Invest in Cybersecurity Technology: Deploy advanced cybersecurity tools by contact with cyber security experts that offer real-time monitoring and automated threat detection. These technologies can identify and mitigate potential threats before they cause harm.
- Partner with Experts: Collaborate with a trusted technology provider like TTR Technology. Their expertise can help you develop and implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy tailored to the unique needs of the healthcare industry.
Don’t leave your healthcare data vulnerable. Reach out to TTR Technology today to learn more about their tailored cybersecurity solutions and ensure your organization’s data is protected against cyber attacks. Visit TTR Technology for more information and to schedule a consultation.
