October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a global campaign dedicated to educating individuals, businesses and institutions about the importance of online safety. For health care leaders, this is an important month to raise awareness in this area, particularly since the frequency and sophistication of cyber incursions into health care have increased steadily.
Like a mutating virus, the tactics used by bad actors to steal information, delay and disrupt patient care, and shut down vital systems putting patient care and safety at risk, continue to evolve.
The disruption to care delivery occurs not only when hospitals are attacked directly, but also when mission- and life-critical third-party providers to health care are attacked by ransomware. The loss of critical dependent third-party technology and services may be even more wide-ranging and disruptive to patient care than when hospitals are attacked directly.
When UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare was attacked by the Russian ransomware group ALPHV Blackcat this year, every hospital in the country felt the impact in one way or another. It was the most significant and consequential cyberattack in the history of U.S. health…
