Predicting Security Issues in the Healthcare Industry in 2021

2020 was a rough year for not just individuals, but organizations as well. With the pressure of helping those afflicted with Covid-19. While also working towards making a vaccine, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities are also under threat of cyberattacks Security Issues.

To put it mildly, the uncertainty brought by the virus has placed hospital owners and staff members in increasingly burdensome situations. As the virus and its associated concerns have led industries to grind to a halt, survivors have been forced to adjust in order to stay afloat.

Unfortunately, 2021 is likely to face similar threats that could affect the healthcare sector. With Covid-19 in the spotlight, cybercriminals are on the look-out for vulnerable institutions.

To gauge the attention of anxious people, these fraudsters have launched virus-related emails which include malicious attachments, devised advanced phishing campaigns, and are organizing targeted attacks. Looking at one case, cybercriminals disguised their email campaigns by impersonating the World Health Organisation and provided incorrect details about the global pandemic and ways of protecting children.

Keeping all this in mind, let’s take a look at the top two predictions for the year 2021. That needs to get with particular attention to certain themes related to healthcare issues and cybersecurity.

1.  COVID-19 Related Cyberattacks

As the infamous Ryuk ransomware attacks of 2020 have shown, cybercriminals are intent on exploiting institutions during this moment of vulnerability though. Since the month of November 2020, a 45% increase was seen in the number of attacks against healthcare institutions globally, compared to a 22% increase on average in the number of attacks faced by other industry sectors.

Looking at the months ahead, this trend of Covid-19 related cyberattacks will only escalate as we shift towards the emerging phase of recovery. In particular, Ransomware attacks will remain imminent and organizations need to invest in training employees to make them aware and capable of using technological solutions to guard against such threats.

Hospitals will continue to be targeted by cybercriminals due to the opportunity of exploiting stressed and vulnerable frontline workers. Moreover as a countermeasure, healthcare institutions should consider Security Issues adopting AI-powered solutions for continuous authentication of healthcare ID cards and badges, while also verifying patient records before procedures.

2.    Patient Data Leaks From Cloud Services

The transition of medical institutions to cloud infrastructures is already creating additional risks. The largest healthcare data breach in 2020 was cause by a third-party cloud computing vendor called Blackbaud Inc. Much like the AMCA breach, the exact number of affected patients and providers is unknown.

However, Base on estimates taken by experts, approximately 10 million patients were victims . According to a report by Precedence Research, the market size of the global healthcare cloud computing industry is forecasted to reach around USD 64.86 billion by the year 2027. Consequently, a high number of reports regarding patient data leaks from cloud services is likely this year.

Making an Action Plan

To ensure hospital and healthcare security, the following steps can be taken:

Key Takeaways