Healthcare organizations will increasingly be targeted by cybercriminals in 2017, as hackers expand from health insurers to hospital networks, which can be more difficult to secure. Ransomware presents low-risk opportunities for attackers to obtain money from victims. This funding supports further research and development of more advanced attacks that may evade existing security systems. Proper security measures, contingency planning, and staff training are recommended to help organizations respond to emerging ransomware and other sophisticated cyber threats.

1. For years, personal medical infor-
mation, particularly electronic health
records, have been some of the most
valuable data criminals can target. In
2015, many attackers focused on health
insurers. But VectorUSA believes 2017
will see criminals expanding into other
aspects of healthcare, including hospi-
tal networks. Hospital networks tend to
be more distributed, making it harder to
maintain security measures compared
with more centralized organizations.
Ransomware presents an easier and
safer way for hackers to cash out. Given
the potential disruption to a company,
most organizations will opt to simply
pay the ransom. This has unintended
consequences of funding more research
and development by attackers who will
in turn develop more sophisticated and
targeted attacks. These new variants
will likely be able to evade many of the
security detection systems that were
developed and are now widely deployed
to stop the previous generation of
attacks.
The consequences of a medical data
breach are wide-ranging, with devas-
tating effects across the board - from
the breached entity to consumers who
may experience medical ID fraud to the
healthcare industry as a whole.
VectorUSA can help.
We recommend health-
care organizations of all
sizes and types review
their security measures and ensure they
have contingency planning for respond-
ing to ransomware attacks as well as
adequate employee security training.
For more information, contact
Alexandra Jones at 310.436.1012
or ajones@vectorusa.com.
Healthcare organizations will
be the most targeted sector
with new, sophisticated attacks
emerging.
Staying ahead of emerging
threats and the increasing
sophistication of cybercriminals
requires constant vigilance.