Generative artificial intelligence and large language models topped the list of emerging and prominent threats to the healthcare industry, a new report found.
A July 13 report from cyber security company Trustwave SpiderLabs outlined three cybersecurity threats that have the strongest potential to disrupt healthcare organizations:
- Generative AI and large language models: A growing number of healthcare leaders said they are concerned about the potential for "unintentional breaches of patient data by internal teams who utilize LLMs [large language models] to enhance efficiency and scalability," the report said.
- Ransomware groups: According to the report, many ransomware groups historically considered hospitals and health systems off-limits when it came to hacking, but the sector is now seeing an increase in groups conducting attacks on the industry. According to the FBI, ransomware attacks on the healthcare sector increased more than any other critical infrastructure sector in 2022, with healthcare accounting for 24 percent of all ransomware attacks.
- Software vendors and IoT exposure: The healthcare industry is heavily reliant upon third-party vendors, and hackers often target these third parties as a way to breach into a company's data.