Forbes published an article describing challenges faced by cybersecurity professionals in healthcare. To hear about TMG’s thoughts on cybersecurity, please contact our Vice President, Deborah Page.
The healthcare industry presents unique cybersecurity challenges given the sheer volume of data and its inherently vulnerable and private nature. This is unlikely to change given that healthcare as an industry creates more data than almost any other industry, 50 petabytes per day. Because even a small breach can mean compromising the protected information of thousands of patients, the industry has become a primary target for hackers. Since 2016, the annual number of ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations doubled, potentially compromising the information of nearly 42 million patients.
It’s also worth noting that data isn’t the only thing that can be targeted. Modern medical devices are often interconnected using a shared network. For example, security experts demonstrated the ability to hack and remotely control a patient’s pacemaker. Similar worries surround insulin pumps and other life-saving devices.
Cybersecurity expertise is likely to become even more valued in the healthcare industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that “information security analyst” is among the fastest-growing professions in the country and is expected to grow by 35% in the next decade.
