As healthcare organizations turn to IoT devices, there are more opportunities for cybercriminals to hack into their systems, according to a report from Unit 42 released March 10.
For the 2020 IoT Threat Report, Unit 42 teamed up with Palo Alto Networks to analyze security incidents throughout 2018 and 2019. Researchers examined 1.2 million IoT devices at thousands of healthcare organizations.
Here are five key statistics to know:
1. Nearly all (98 percent) of IoT devices are unencrypted and unsecured, exposing personal and confidential data on the healthcare organization's networks.
2. Fifty-seven percent of IoT devices are vulnerable to medium- or high-severity attacks, with the most frequent attacks being the exploitation via long-known vulnerabilities and password attacks using default device passwords.
3. Approximately 83 percent of medical imaging devices run on outdated software. This is mainly due to Microsoft Windows 7 ending its support.
4. Seventy-two percent of healthcare broadcast domains mix IoT and IT assets, which allows malware to spread from one user's computer to vulnerable devices on the same network.
5. Researchers found 41 percent of attacks exploit device vulnerabilities.