Healthcare organizations face many of the same cybersecurity threats as other industries, but with one critical difference: the stakes are far higher. While the financial fallout from an incident can be significant (the average cost of a breach reached $4.88 million in 2024, per IBM), healthcare incidents often jeopardize not just dollars, but patient safety and trust.
Highly sensitive data, strict federal and state regulations, complex vendor ecosystems, and widespread use of legacy and connected medical devices all amplify the impact of an IT security event. Below are five key risks facing healthcare IT leaders and practical steps your organization should take now to mitigate them.
1. Healthcare Ransomware: A Threat to Both Revenue and Patient Care
Ransomware has become one of the most devastating forms of cyberattack, and healthcare remains one of the most heavily targeted sectors. Attackers know that hospitals and providers cannot afford downtime. A locked EHR system can delay patient care, disrupt surgeries, and compromise access to life-saving treatment.
The 2024 ransomware attack on Ascension Healthcare, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S., highlighted just how vulnerable even well-resourced organizations can be, especially when vendor systems are involved.
What You Should Do Now:
- Establish a comprehensive, organization-wide ransomware response plan.
- Invest in early detection and response tools to identify threats before they spread.
- Train employees, contractors, and vendors on security awareness and phishing prevention.
- Ensure backups are regularly created, tested, and stored offline.
- Update and test your incident response plan at least annually.
2. Legacy Healthcare Systems: When Outdated Tech Becomes an Open Door
Legacy systems—outdated hardware or software still in use—are especially common in healthcare. Changing them out can be expensive and disruptive, often requiring revalidation of clinical workflows and compliance processes. But these systems create significant vulnerabilities.
Unsupported systems do not receive security patches, and many use outdated encryption protocols. That makes them an easy target for attackers who scan networks for known exploits.
What You Should Do Now:
- Maintain an inventory of legacy systems, including data types and sensitivity levels.
- Monitor known vulnerabilities and implement compensating controls where upgrades are not feasible.
- Segment legacy systems onto isolated network zones or VLANs.
- Secure communications through VPNs and modern encryption protocols.
- Track software and hardware lifecycles to prepare in advance for end-of-life transitions.
3. Third-Party Risk: Your Vendors Are an Extension of You
Healthcare organizations increasingly rely on third-party vendors for essential services such as revenue cycle management, diagnostics, and cloud-based imaging. Each of these relationships introduces new risk, and breaches of your vendors can have direct consequences for your operations and compliance posture.
Whether a billing partner loses protected health information (PHI) or a clinical platform experiences downtime, the fallout ultimately affects your organization’s ability to deliver care and maintain regulatory compliance.
What You Should Do Now:
- Implement a formal vendor risk management program, including:
- Security assessments during vendor selection, such as questionnaires or SOC 2 reviews.
- Ongoing risk tiering and monitoring for higher-risk vendors.
- Review of compliance status and breach history.
- Ensure Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) are in place and reviewed periodically.
- Confirm that vendors handling PHI are also compliant with the HIPAA Security Rule.
4. Human Error: Simple Mistakes Can Trigger Major Healthcare Cybersecurity Breaches
Despite the focus on sophisticated cyberattacks, many breaches stem from avoidable human mistakes. Misaddressed emails, misconfigured portals, and improper handling of PHI are frequent root causes of reportable incidents—and the consequences can be significant.
In healthcare, even a single email sent to the wrong recipient can require reporting to HHS, the media, and affect patients, especially if the email contains more than 500 records.
What You Should Do Now:
- Provide job-specific security and privacy training upon hire and at least annually.
- Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools to flag and block sensitive data leaving the organization.
- Standardize system configurations to reduce the chance of security missteps.
- Establish clear procedures for error reporting and containment.
5. Internet-of-Things (IoT) Devices: Vital Tools, Invisible Risks to Healthcare Cybersecurity
Medical devices like infusion pumps, heart rate monitors, and MRI machines are increasingly connected to the internet to support real-time diagnostics and remote monitoring. But this connectivity introduces new threats, especially when devices retain default passwords, lack encryption, or operate outside IT’s visibility.
IoT devices often live on the same network as clinical systems, making them a possible entry point for attackers. They may also collect and transmit data to third parties, creating privacy and compliance concerns.
What You Should Do Now:
- Maintain an accurate inventory of all IoT-connected devices, including manufacturer, model, and firmware version.
- Change default credentials and secure device configurations upon deployment.
- Regularly update firmware to address known vulnerabilities.
- Place IoT devices on segmented network zones to isolate them from critical infrastructure.
- Evaluate what data is transmitted and stored by the device manufacturer and ensure appropriate agreements and security controls are in place.
A Strategic Partner Providing Healthcare Cybersecurity Services
At Freed Maxick, we understand the unique challenges healthcare organizations face in today’s cybersecurity threat landscape. Our Risk Advisory team works with providers, payers, and health systems to assess cyber risk, strengthen internal controls, and implement sustainable compliance strategies. Whether you're looking to proactively identify vulnerabilities or respond to an incident, we’re here to help.
To learn more about how Freed Maxick can support your cybersecurity and risk management goals, contact Justin Bonk by phone at 716.332.2680 or email at justin.bonk@freedmaxick.com.