March 7, 2018 By Shane Schick 2 min read

The shift toward digital solutions for managing patient data may be contributing to the increasing volume of security breaches in healthcare, a recent report suggested.

According to the “2018 Thales Data Threat Report,” 70 percent of healthcare organizations around the world have experienced a data breach. The survey, which included responses from approximately 1,200 global security professionals, also found that 55 percent of healthcare companies feel either “extremely” or “very vulnerable” to cyberattacks.

Technology Adoption Drives Up Security Breaches in Healthcare

Like almost every other industry sector, healthcare organizations have been adopting new technologies to boost productivity, cut down costs, improve communication and solve problems. Infosecurity Magazine noted that 93 percent of firms in the Thales study said they are using analytics software to manage big data, hosting data in the cloud or leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) in some way. Security breaches may be on the rise simply because there are more points of vulnerability for cybercriminals to target.

Medical records often include data that is more valuable that credit card information, ComputerWeekly reported. Although 70 percent of healthcare professionals who responded to the Thales survey said that adhering to regulation and compliance requirements is an “extremely” or “very” effective way to avoid security breaches, it’s obviously not keeping all electronic health records and personal health information safe.

Insider Threats on the Rise

Thales isn’t the only firm taking a closer look at this sector. Verizon’s “2018 Protected Health Information Data Breach Report (PHIDBR)” revealed that nearly 6 in 10 security breaches in healthcare stem from either malicious or negligent employees. Another study from consulting firm Accenture found that nearly a quarter of U.S. healthcare employees know of at least one co-worker who had illegally sold usernames, passwords or other private information to unauthorized outsiders.

While insider threats are common in many other markets, the Verizon report noted that 70 percent of security breaches in healthcare that involved malicious code were ransomware attacks. Ransomware campaigns frequently target unsuspecting users, suggesting a need for increased security awareness and employee education.

More from

How will the Merck settlement affect the insurance industry?

3 min read - A major shift in how cyber insurance works started with an attack on the pharmaceutical giant Merck. Or did it start somewhere else?In June 2017, the NotPetya incident hit some 40,000 Merck computers, destroying data and forcing a months-long recovery process. The attack affected thousands of multinational companies, including Mondelēz and Maersk. In total, the malware caused roughly $10 billion in damage.NotPetya malware exploited two Windows vulnerabilities: EternalBlue, a digital skeleton key leaked from the NSA, and Mimikatz, an exploit…

3 Strategies to overcome data security challenges in 2024

3 min read - There are over 17 billion internet-connected devices in the world — and experts expect that number will surge to almost 30 billion by 2030.This rapidly growing digital ecosystem makes it increasingly challenging to protect people’s privacy. Attackers only need to be right once to seize databases of personally identifiable information (PII), including payment card information, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers.In addition to the ever-present cybersecurity threats, data security teams must consider the growing list of data compliance laws…

ICS CERT predictions for 2024: What you need to know

4 min read - As we work through the first quarter of 2024, various sectors are continuously adapting to increasingly complex cybersecurity threats. Sectors like healthcare, finance, energy and transportation are all regularly widening their digital infrastructure, resulting in larger attack surfaces and greater risk exposure.Kaspersky just released their ICS CERT Predictions for this year, outlining the key cybersecurity challenges industrial enterprises will face in the year ahead. The forecasts emphasize the persistent nature of ransomware threats, the increasing prevalence of cosmopolitical hacktivism, insights…

Topic updates

Get email updates and stay ahead of the latest threats to the security landscape, thought leadership and research.
Subscribe today