Devices connected to the networks of healthcare organizations often use weak encryption and provide access to the organization's entire network. This makes it an attractive entry point for threat actors looking to exploit medical data.
Medical device vulnerabilities occur due to the interconnected nature of modern medical devices which rely on network connectivity for diagnostics, monitoring, and treatment. An Annual Undergraduate Research Conference on Applied Computing conference paper provides, “A critical reason why the networked medical devices that patients depend on suffer from security vulnerabilities is because software engineers have not integrated security into the foundations of these devices.”
Many healthcare organizations then cannot afford or simply do not prioritize this part of cybersecurity. Attackers exploit these weaknesses to access medical devices and disrupt healthcare operations. The rapid adoption of wireless and remote technologies has expanded the attack surface, providing more opportunities to infiltrate systems.
Medical devices often store or transmit protected health information (PHI) which are valuable on the black market for profit. Hackers know healthcare organizations are heavily reliant on these devices for operations making them prime targets for ransomware attacks that disrupt care and force organizations to pay.
Medical devices are also frequently outdated in terms of cybersecurity. Many practices use legacy systems and create easy entry points for attackers. Their interconnectivity, designed to improve efficiency and patient outcomes, also creates a larger attack surface.
Threat actors are individuals or groups that carry out cyberattacks like hackers, notation states, and insider threats.
Healthcare organizations store extremely valuable data while often relying on outdated systems.
The safest method is encrypted, HIPAA compliant email platforms like Paubox.