Cyber security in the healthcare sector: the scenario, risks and future challenges
SAFE CORE
Reference context
Over the last decade, the cyber threat in the healthcare sector has grown exponentially, parallel to the evolution of cyber attacks. This pushes us to discuss the importance of Cybersecurity in the healthcare context.
Healthcare cybersecurity focuses on safeguarding information and technological infrastructure in the healthcare field. Entities such as hospitals, clinics, laboratories and pharmaceutical companies process considerable volumes of personal and confidential data. This data is frequently exchanged between various entities to ensure continuity of care and collaboration between healthcare professionals.
Cyberattacks are a concern in the healthcare sector, as they pose a threat not only to the security of systems and information, but also to the well-being and safety of patients.
Technological evolution in the healthcare sector
Technological evolution in the health sector has led to remarkable advances and improvements in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Below are some of the key trends and technological innovations transforming the healthcare sector:
- Telemedicine: Telehealth allows patients to consult doctors and other healthcare professionals remotely, via video conferencing, chat or phone calls. This approach improves access to medical care, reduces wait times and allows for remote monitoring of patients.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning are revolutionizing disease diagnosis and treatment, as well as improving the operational efficiency of healthcare facilities. These technologies help physicians identify patterns and correlates in data, develop personalized treatments, and predict clinical outcomes.
- Big Data and Analytics: The healthcare industry generates massive amounts of data. Analyzing this data allows you to identify trends, improve the quality of care and reduce costs. In addition, big data analytics can help in medical research, new drug development and disease prevention,
- Connected medical devices and the Internet of Things (IoT): Connected medical devices, such as wearables and patient monitors, allow data to be collected and shared in real time. This can improve patient monitoring and allow for early intervention in the event of health problems.
- 3D printing: 3D printing has revolutionized the production of customized prostheses, implants and surgical instruments. Additionally, research is working on 3D bioprinting for creating human tissues and organs for transplantation.
- Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): These technologies are finding application in physician education, surgical procedure planning, and patient rehabilitation. VR and AR make it possible to simulate real situations and to view data and images in real time during interventions.
- Genomic therapies and personalized medicine: The advancement of genomic technologies has allowed the development of targeted and personalized therapies based on the patient's genetic profile. This can improve the effectiveness of treatments and reduce side effects.
- Blockchain: Blockchain technology can be used to ensure the security and privacy of health data, facilitate the sharing of information between different players in the sector and trace the origin of medicines.
- These technological innovations in the healthcare sector are improving the efficiency, quality and accessibility of medical care and reducing costs.
There is an urgent need to advance cybersecurity measures. A report from a research institute highlights an increase in data breaches in the healthcare sector, placing it among the most affected globally.
Another institute's study analyzed data on more than 235 cyberattacks (excluding data breaches) against the healthcare sector in 33 countries: a worrying picture emerges. These data represent only part of the phenomenon, but are indicative of a growing trend and its consequences on access to healthcare.
More than 10 million records were compromised, including a wide range of information such as Social Security numbers, Social Security numbers, medical records, employee and institutional financial data, genetic test results, HIV tests, and private donor information and benefactors.
On average, an attack on the healthcare sector leads to the breach of 155.000 records, with some cases seeing over 3 million records compromised.
The vulnerability of the sector
Cyber vulnerabilities in the healthcare sector are the weaknesses or shortcomings of systems, networks, applications or devices that can be exploited by attackers to compromise the security of information or infrastructure:
- Private patient information: Health data contains a variety of sensitive information, such as personally identifiable information (for example, name, address, date of birth), financial information (for example, credit card numbers, bank details), and medical information details (e.g. diagnoses, treatments, prescriptions). This data can be used in a variety of ways to profit, including: identity theft, health care and insurance fraud, extortion, and black market sales.
- Electromedical devices: Medical electrical devices, such as monitors, insulin pumps, pacemakers and other connected medical devices, can effectively be an entry point for attackers looking to gain access to healthcare networks and patient data. There are several reasons why these devices are easy targets: Connectivity, lack of built-in security, software obsolescence, lack of awareness and training of the healthcare professionals who use them, and difficulties with software updates.
- Access to data remotely by healthcare personnel: Remote access to health data has become increasingly common, especially with the rise of telehealth and the need to share information between different health care facilities and professionals. However, remote access presents some cybersecurity risks in healthcare such as data interception, insecure devices, insecure connections, inadequate authentication and authorization, phishing, and social engineering attacks.
- The growing number of devices used in hospitals: Modern healthcare organizations are responsible for huge amounts of patient data, as well as a large network of connected medical devices. Larger organizations manage thousands of medical devices, all connected to their network and each representing a potential entry route for attackers. It takes just one device to be compromised to open up the entire network to data breaches and medical device hacks.
- Open and shareable health information: confidential patient data should be open and shareable to foster collaboration among healthcare professionals, improve the quality of care and accelerate medical research. What is worrying, however, is the problem that the devices used for sharing may not always be protected. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) solutions are an effective security mechanism to prevent attacks that exploit compromised credentials or unauthorized users.
- Targeted attacks: Healthcare organizations are often targeted by targeted attacks, such as ransomware, which blocks access to data and systems until a ransom is paid. Targeted attacks can cause major business disruptions and put patients' safety at risk.
- Outdated technology indicates that the healthcare sector is unprepared: Limited budgets and a hesitation in learning to use state-of-the-art systems often drive some healthcare organizations into a state of obsolescence. Hospitals too often run systems that are out of date when they should keep all software running on the latest version. Updates are essential as they contain bug fixes to keep systems secure enough or changes due to vulnerabilities discovered in use.
To address these vulnerabilities, it is essential that healthcare institutions adopt a comprehensive, layered cybersecurity strategy. This strategy should include constantly updating software and hardware, adequately training staff, effectively slicing the network, adopting robust security policies and procedures, and actively collaborating with experts and other entities in the healthcare field.
Cyber security in the healthcare sector: guidelines
To ensure robust cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, it is important to follow a few guidelines and recommended practices.
Below are some of the key guidelines for cybersecurity in the healthcare sector:
- Regulatory compliance: Make sure you comply with all applicable data protection and cybersecurity laws and regulations, such as the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the European Union or the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in the United States.
- Risk assessment and management: Perform regular risk assessments to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and threats and develop action plans to mitigate those risks.
- Access control: Implement strict access control, assigning the least necessary privileges to users, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and periodically reviewing access rights.
- Staff training and awareness: Provide cybersecurity training and awareness to all staff, in order to prevent human errors and strengthen the culture of security within the organisation.
- Device and application protection: Take steps to protect connected medical devices and software applications, such as installing updates and security patches, virus scanning, and malware protection.
- Network Segmentation: Properly segment your network to isolate critical systems and limit the spread of any cyber attacks.
- Threat monitoring and detection: Implement threat detection and monitoring solutions to quickly identify any suspicious activity or anomalies in your network and systems.
- Incident Response and Recovery Plans: Develop and test incident response and recovery plans to ensure quick and effective recovery in the event of a security breach or disruption to operations.
- Encryption and data protection: Use encryption technologies to protect sensitive data, both in transit and at rest, and ensure communications security.
- Data Backup: Back up critical data regularly and verify the integrity of backups to ensure that information can be restored in the event of data loss or a ransomware attack.
- Collaboration and information sharing: Partner with other healthcare organizations, government agencies, and research groups to share threat intelligence, best practices, and lessons learned in the cybersecurity field.
Cyber security in the healthcare sector: the challenges
From what has been said so far, it emerges how much transversal skills are necessary for the management of cyber security in the health sector. To date, in fact, the healthcare sector is not ready and does not have sufficient funds to counter these new threats.
The problems with cybersecurity encountered by healthcare sector actors are due, in particular, to the low priority that has been assigned to them in terms of resources and leadership. In addition, to make the picture even more difficult, the complexity, depth and aggressiveness of attacks by hackers have increased in recent years.
Even today, despite having full awareness of these risk factors and how fundamental it is to find an effective solution, few healthcare companies have reviewed their strategy and dedicated more resources to IT security and IT departments, also due to the recession we are living.
Despite this, however, it will continue to face cyber challenges in the future, as technology and digitization play an increasingly important role in healthcare.
There are several strategies that can be adopted to improve cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, even with limited resources:
- Prioritize security initiatives: Focus on areas of greatest risk and invest in security solutions that deliver the greatest return on investment, such as upgrading critical infrastructure, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), and adopting encryption solutions.
- Training and awareness: Training healthcare professionals on cyber threats and security best practices can be a cost-effective and effective way to reduce the risk of data breaches and cyber attacks. Organizations can also leverage free or low-cost online resources to provide training and regular updates.
- Collaboration with other organizations and partnerships: Healthcare organizations can collaborate with other industry organizations, research groups, and government agencies to share best practices, resources, and threat intelligence. This can help organizations learn from each other and develop more effective security strategies.
- Implementation of robust security policies and procedures: Healthcare organizations must develop and implement clear security policies and procedures that define responsibilities, monitoring activities, and responses to security incidents.
- Using open source and low cost solutions: Exploring low-cost or open source security solutions can be an effective way to implement security measures without a large financial investment.
- Search for funding and grants: Healthcare organizations can seek funding and grants from governments, foundations, and other sources to fund cybersecurity efforts.
- Continuous review and monitoring: Healthcare organizations must regularly monitor and evaluate their security strategies and resources to identify any vulnerabilities and adapt to evolving threats.
While the healthcare industry may face significant challenges in combating cyberthreats, it is possible to improve cybersecurity through a strategic approach and collaboration with other organizations and available resources.
