Healthcare organizations were targeted with 45 cyberattacks last year, which was not only a significant increase from the year before but also higher than the incidence in the finance, energy, insurance, and telecommunications industries, Infosecurity Magazine reports.
Sixty-eight percent of cyber intrusions against the sector involved phishing and edge infrastructure vulnerability exploitation, according to an analysis from Darktrace. On the other hand, three-quarters of the network attacks in the industry were attributed to business email or cloud account hacks that did not cause ransomware infections or data theft, indicating further compromise. Moreover, expanding attack surfaces for the sector brought upon by Internet of Medical Things devices and software-as-a-service tools should prompt the implementation of more robust security systems. "Healthcare being one of the most targeted sectors aligns with trends we've observed for some time, though the intensity has noticeably increased in 2024... The sensitive nature of patient information, combined with the potential for disruption to critical services, creates a high-value target for attackers," said Darktrace Principal Cyber Analyst Nicole Wong.
Sixty-eight percent of cyber intrusions against the sector involved phishing and edge infrastructure vulnerability exploitation, according to an analysis from Darktrace. On the other hand, three-quarters of the network attacks in the industry were attributed to business email or cloud account hacks that did not cause ransomware infections or data theft, indicating further compromise. Moreover, expanding attack surfaces for the sector brought upon by Internet of Medical Things devices and software-as-a-service tools should prompt the implementation of more robust security systems. "Healthcare being one of the most targeted sectors aligns with trends we've observed for some time, though the intensity has noticeably increased in 2024... The sensitive nature of patient information, combined with the potential for disruption to critical services, creates a high-value target for attackers," said Darktrace Principal Cyber Analyst Nicole Wong.
