Cyberattacks in healthcare: how to defend yourself

24% of our country’s healthcare facilities suffered cyber attacks in 2020, of which 11% consisted of ransomware and 33% of abusive access to data.

This is what emerges from the research “Understanding cyber risk: the new horizon in healthcare” created to understand the level of awareness of Italian healthcare workers on cyber risk. The survey analyzed the responses of 68 sector professionals operating in structures distributed across 14 Italian regions.

From what emerges from the report, despite the high percentage of cyber attacks, the hacker threat is not underestimated: 59% of structures perceive the topic of cyber risk in healthcare as a priority which impacts the services provided and internal organizational models. A further 31% rated the topic as partially priority.

Despite this, the measures adopted by structures to prevent and manage cyber risk are still infrequent: mapping, risk analysis and vulnerability tests figure in only a third of the total.

“It is a limited but representative analysis, which photographs the state of preparation of our healthcare workers with respect to the cyber threat and whose results can concretely contribute to research on the security of the health sector” underlined Roberto Ravinale, executive director of the mutual company leader in healthcare civil liability in Northern Italy.

Difficulties in evolving the healthcare sector

Healthcare is among the sectors that were the first to approach the computerization of processes, but in a very uneven way, and at the same time it is one of the sectors with the most complex information systems. The consequence, today, is information systems that are often the result of stratifications that have occurred over decadeswith systems of different generations that must interact closely with each other.

But also, companies where robotics and artificial intelligence are enteringbut in which at the same time the departments can still manage patients’ medical records in an almost completely paper-based manner. Managing security in this context becomes very complex.

The importance of protecting data

This study highlights how cyber security risks must now be considered increasingly important.

It is not only a question of data confidentiality, but also of their correctness, they are in fact very important to ensure the correct care of patients and avoid responsibilities that could fall on the structures and healthcare workers.

Furthermore, the large amount of data that is generated can be fundamental if exploited in the field of research, to ensure the ability to make increasingly accurate diagnoses, calibrating the treatment path to the needs of the individual patient, up to and including predictive medicine.

A wealth of data that must therefore be protected in order to be adequately valorised and used, always with attention to patient protection.

And speaking of interventions for the protection of information, the study rightly underlines again that these are not purely technological interventions on the information system: it is necessary to adopt conduct procedures both in the clinical field and in the processing of personal data which involve all the staff responsible for carrying out the various activities.