Healthcare is becoming a bigger target for cyberattacks due to many reasons, such as the types of data stored and lack of spending on cybersecurity.
The Next Web outlined five reasons hospitals, health systems and other healthcare players have become more common sources of cyberattacks.
1. The value of healthcare data: On the black market, a single patient health record could sell for around $1,000. These records include Social Security numbers, medications and credit card information, making large scale attacks worth millions.
2. The rising complexity of healthcare systems: Hospitals technology systems are becoming increasingly more complicated, relying on an interconnected network of devices. For hackers, it just takes attacking one vulnerability in a single device to destroy the entire network.
3. Misplaced attention of technology upgrades: Hospitals are more inclined to spend money on new medical equipment rather than on cybersecurity and operational solutions.
4. The lack of understanding: Some hospitals don't have cybersecurity teams or even IT departments as their minimal staff is focused on improving health outcomes rather than thinking about security.
5. The lack of funding: Improving technology security standards would require hospitals and health systems to cough up a lot of money, beyond infrastructure. These healthcare organizations would have to pay higher prices per patient episode and implement more internal restrictions on the new technology acquisitions.