Cyber threats in Healthcare Industry

The current data protection measures are not sufficient, and sensitive information remains at risk as cybercriminals continue to access it in ever higher numbers.

Globally, a total of 110.8Million accounts were breached in the second quarter of 2023, translating into around 14 accounts being breached every second. United States ranks 1st, with 49.8M leaked accounts, followed by Russia (15.3M), Spain (3.7M), France (3.4M), and Turkey (2.8M).

A 156% increase in breached users worldwide is seen compared to Q1 2023. North America was the most affected region by breaches in Q2 2023, followed by Europe and Asia. All other regions comprised less than 5% of the quarter’s total. The countries with the highest breach density (the number of leaked accounts per 1,000 residents) are US, Russia, Spain, Finland, and Australia.

These findings are concerning, as they show that data breaches are becoming more common and more widespread. It is important for individuals and businesses to take steps to protect their data from being breached, such as using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and being careful about what information they share online.

Here are some additional tips for protecting your data from data breaches:

· Use a VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi. A VPN can help to encrypt your traffic and protect your data from being intercepted by hackers.

· Be aware of the risks of social engineering attacks. Social engineering attacks are designed to trick people into giving up their personal information or clicking on malicious links.

· Back up your data regularly. This way, if your data is compromised in a data breach, you will still have a copy of it.

Technology and digital systems play a major role in ensuring that healthcare organizations provide timely care to patients. However, with this development comes the risk of cyber threats. The number of cyber incidents in the healthcare sector has increased exponentially in recent years, reaching 13% of Arete's ransomware caseload, while professional services hold the top spot with 35.8%.

There are lessons to learn from the incidents like Sun Pharmaceuticals attack by ALPHV Ransomware Group, AIIMS cyber-attack and Safdarjung Hospital facing hacking attack. It highlights the escalating cyber threats in the healthcare sector, accounting for 13% of ransomware cases. It emphasizes the importance of technology in healthcare while providing these 5 essential strategies to ensure safety, i.e. robust cybersecurity measures, employee training, system updates, data encryption, and incident response plans.

Having said that, the healthcare industry must prioritize cybersecurity to protect patient's data. By taking several security steps Healthcare organizations can better protect themselves against cyber threats and create a secure digital environment for patients and healthcare providers.