Healthcare organizations such as hospitals and clinics are vulnerable to all manner of cyberattacks, particularly phishing and business email compromise (BEC) scams, man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, and data breaches. Third-party risks and ransomware risks are also serious security problems in healthcare, especially in the post-COVID era. The medical world had already noted such cyberattacks years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic only underlined those worries about cyber attacks.

Building a HIPAA-compliant security program is a very time intensive and demanding undertaking. It can also be confusing, as satisfying requirements like the HIPAA Security Rule require extensive interpretation and documentation on the part of security professionals. However, by arming yourself with knowledge before beginning the process, you can cut down on unnecessary difficulties.

Within the HIPAA Security Rule are Administrative, Physical, and Technical Safeguards. These safeguards are as important to understand as they are to implement, so let’s get some clarifications for the non-initiated.

Cyberattacks targeting university and government healthcare facilities are on the rise. In the first four months of 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center tracked a total of 82 ransomware incidents targeting the healthcare sector, with nearly 60% of them affecting the U.S. market. The impact has been devastating.

The world of healthcare has gone digital. Records can now be transferred anywhere they are needed, from hospital to hospital, or even directly to the patient’s email inbox. While the digitalization of healthcare records is extremely convenient but it is now equally dangerous. These sensitive PHI data are exposed to various forms of cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

If you’re looking for a reason to make protecting legacy systems a priority for your healthcare organization, we’ve got 9.23 million for you. That’s the total number of US dollars lost by the healthcare sector to data breaches alone in 2021– and that number is increasing year on year. In fact, the healthcare sector has been the target of the costliest data breaches of all sectors – including financial, technology, and services – for 11 years.

Cybersecurity is a constant, serious threat to the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, however, the risks to cybersecurity and data security in healthcare are only one part of the larger risk management puzzle for healthcare organizations. Infections, alarm fatigue, telemedicine, and a lack of emergency preparedness also pose severe threats in healthcare. To minimize exposure, healthcare organizations require a comprehensive risk management program.

According to a report published by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), losses resulting from attacks against business emails are 64 times more damaging than ransomware when measured by dollar amount losses. Phishing and email data breaches can be particularly damaging in the health sector. Regulatory authorities and oversight bodies are incredibly stringent when enforcing compliance measures designed to protect sensitive medical and patient data.