Almost all (94 percent) of healthcare organizations have experienced some kind of cyberattack or malware on one or more of their IT systems or devices, according to a recent Ponemon report.
Cybersecurity firm Norse analyzed the potentially malicious traffic detected on its network between September 2012 and October 2013. The study identified the most common points of entry for hackers and other unauthorized traffic.
Connected devices were often the most vulnerable pieces of a hospital's infrastructure. The study found 7 percent of traffic came from radiology imaging software, 7 percent from video conferencing systems and 3 percent from teleconferencing systems used for remote consults. According to the report, because these endpoints are often overlooked by providers during security audits, they are most vulnerable to unauthorized entry.
Security systems and edge devices were also found to be a high-risk point. Firewalls sent 16 percent of malicious traffic into healthcare organizations, routers sent 7 percent and enterprise network controllers sent 3 percent. Therefore, even if a provider has complied with federal regulations by installing a security system, patient information may still not be secure, the report concluded.
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