Hospitals are the "bull's-eye" for hackers this
year, with Bitcoin making it easier for criminals to pursue ransomware attacks.
The convergence of vulnerable legacy hardware and software
systems and the emergence of connected health, Internet of Things devices that
are not always built with security in mind, and the super-identity criminals
can steal, all make healthcare more attractive to hackers than any other
sector, according to Matt Anthony, vice president of incident response at the
Herjavec Group.
Also, Bitcoin provides added motivation for cybercriminals
to pursue their illegal activities.
“Bitcoin is the engine for cybercriminality, and as long as
there is an anonymous way for criminals to get paid, it’s not going to get
better anytime soon,” Anthony pointed out. “It’s a winning combination for
organised crime – not necessarily Italians in smart suits and fedoras, either.
There are large organised communities in China and Russia.”
Overall, ransomware damages are projected to reach $1
billion, according to new research from Cybersecurity Ventures. The report was
sponsored by the Herjavec Group. Often hospitals don't hesitate to pony up
after a ransomware attack as they really need the data cybercriminals just encrypted.
“Hospitals will pay, they’ll pay fast and they’ll pay what
it takes to get data back,” Anthony said. “We ask people not to pay but
sometimes there’s no alternative in healthcare.”
The report also says global spending on cybersecurity in
healthcare is set to surpass $65 billion by 2021. In fact, Anthony has observed
that hospital IT departments are increasingly turning to cloud services for
proactive monitoring, log aggregation and alerting. However, hospital IT teams
need to get better at all of those more quickly than they currently are,
Anthony said, noting that ransomware and other cybercriminal attacks are going
to get a lot worse before they get any better.
Source: Healthcare IT News
Image credit: Pixabbay
