In recent years, hospitals have become one of the most targeted sectors for cyberattacks, and the trend shows no signs of slowing.
A recent article in the Portland Press Herald highlights the alarming rise in cyberattacks on healthcare organizations, explaining not only how widespread the problem has become but also why attackers are zeroing in on this critical industry.
Hospitals are uniquely vulnerable, making them both lucrative and strategic targets. Their dependence on real-time access to electronic medical records, interconnected systems, and life-saving devices means there is no margin for downtime. Criminals know this. The Press Herald reports that “hospital systems can't afford to have their networks go dark,” which increases the likelihood of paying ransom demands to restore operations quickly.
Healthcare systems across the U.S. are under constant assault. The article points to a recent incident at Ascension, one of the largest private healthcare systems in the country, which was forced to divert ambulances and delay procedures due to a major ransomware attack. Another attack on Change Healthcare resulted in weeks of disruption and significant ripple effects throughout the medical billing infrastructure. These disruptions not only impact hospital finances but also delay care, put lives at risk, and reduce public trust.
Several factors make healthcare organizations attractive to cybercriminals:
Life-or-death urgency: Attackers exploit the high-stakes environment, knowing that hospitals cannot afford delays and are more likely to pay up.
Highly valuable data: Hospitals store extensive amounts of personal, financial, and medical information, all of which can be sold or used for identity theft.
Outdated infrastructure: Many hospitals rely on legacy systems that are difficult to secure or update.
Operational complexity: Large health systems operate across multiple facilities and networks, creating more attack surfaces and security gaps.
Even well-funded healthcare providers are finding it hard to keep pace with the growing sophistication and frequency of attacks.
Unfortunately, many healthcare providers still depend on a "detect and respond" cybersecurity model. This approach relies on spotting malicious behavior after it occurs, which is increasingly ineffective against today’s threats. AI-driven malware, fileless attacks, and zero-day exploits are designed to slip past detection systems undetected.
Detection and response is inherently reactive. By the time a threat is identified, the damage may already be underway or done. Recovery is costly, both in terms of finances and public trust.
AppGuard offers a proactive and proven approach to cybersecurity. Rather than detecting threats after they start, AppGuard prevents malicious activity from executing at all. This method is called Isolation and Containment. It stops attacks before they begin, regardless of whether the malware is known or unknown.
AppGuard does not rely on signature updates, cloud lookups, or forensic analysis. It simply blocks unauthorized actions at the process level, quietly preventing malware from gaining a foothold or spreading.
This is the kind of defense hospitals and other critical infrastructure organizations need. In the cases of Ascension or Change Healthcare, AppGuard could have stopped the attacks before operations were impacted or patient data was compromised.
Cyberattacks on hospitals are no longer rare events. They are frequent, damaging, and dangerous. The financial losses are substantial, but the risk to patient health and public safety is even more serious.
CHIPS is here to help businesses and healthcare organizations get ahead of these threats with AppGuard, a trusted endpoint protection solution with a 10-year track record of success. Already used by government and defense agencies, AppGuard is now available for commercial use.
If you are a business owner, especially in the healthcare sector or any critical industry, talk with us at CHIPS about how AppGuard can prevent this type of incident.
It’s time to move from "Detect and Respond" to "Isolation and Containment."
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