Healthcare Facilities Suffered More Cyberattacks than Other Industries

Netwrix announced additional findings for the healthcare sector from its global 2022 Cloud Security Report. 

Sixty-one percent of respondents in the healthcare industry suffered a cyberattack on their cloud infrastructure within the last 12 months, compared to 53 percent for other verticals. Phishing was the most common type of attack reported. 

"The healthcare sector is a lucrative target for attackers because the chances of success are higher,” says Dirk Schrader, vice president of security research at Netwrix. “The first two years of the pandemic exhausted the industry. With patient health being the main priority for these organizations, IT security resources are often too stretched and are focused on maintaining only the most necessary functions. Plus, the high value of data gives cyber criminals better opportunities at financial gain: They can either sell stolen sensitive medical information on the dark web or extort a ransom for unfreezing the medical systems used to keep patients alive." 

An attack in the healthcare sector is more likely to result in financial consequences. Thirty-two percent of respondents from other industries report that an attack had no impact on their business, while only 14 percent of healthcare organizations say the same, according to Netwrix. Unplanned expenses to cover security gaps and compliance fines are the most common types of damage that the healthcare sector faces due to a cyberattack.