While cybersecurity remains top of mind for healthcare professionals, the industry lacks some readiness to deal with threats in several areas, according to a 2024 Cisco study.
For the 14th consecutive year, healthcare remains the industry targeted most by cyber criminals, with the current average cost of a breach topping $9.77 million. However, after notching No. 3 for cybersecurity readiness in the 2023 study, healthcare failed to make the top five of most-prepared industries in the 2024 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index.
When breaking down the report’s categories, though, healthcare showed “a high level of readiness” in Machine Trustworthiness, which includes personal and IoT devices. That’s important because millions of IoT medical devices connect to hospital networks every day to generate, transfer and store protected health information (PHI), as well as other data — and a majority of these devices lack adequate security protections.
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Healthcare also topped the Readiness Index in Cloud Reinforcement, but the industry scored lower in the Identity Intelligence, Network Resilience and AI Fortification categories.
“Given that healthcare organizations store large volumes of sensitive patient data on their machines and clouds, robust defenses in this area are critical,” the report said.
Organizations that take proactive steps to protect themselves and their patients from cybersecurity breaches will ultimately need to address their network infrastructure and fortify against the ever-widening tactics used by cyber criminals.
Here are three simple ways to begin protecting your organization and patients.
Step 1: Identify
To understand the risks to systems, assets, data and capabilities, you need visibility into what is on your network, who is using network-connected devices, when network access is requested, and where the request is coming from.
Step 2: Protect
Deploying safeguards against inevitable cyberattacks is crucial. Protection can include everything from enforcing access control to managing data confidentiality. Firewalls are foundational to having the industry’s most complete and open security platform. With world-class security controls, consistent policy and visibility, and the ability to integrate network and security, your healthcare organization can reduce costs and complexity.
Step 3: Engage a professional
An end-to-end IT solutions provider can help shore up vulnerabilities to cyberthreats and implement security measures to keep your organization and patients safe, while also fulfilling obligations to HIPAA and other industry standards.
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