From mid-sized private practices to health insurers and beyond, the healthcare industry is one of the biggest creators of online data — 2.3 zettabytes of global health data — and The World Economic Forum also states that the average hospital produces 50 petabytes of data per year. It feels extreme to position cybersecurity as a life-or-death situation, but in healthcare, it is. Reframing cybersecurity from "expensive IT function" to "potentially life-saving patient care" is crucial in 2025. There are severe consequences, especially when considering specific situations in healthcare, such as heart surgery being delayed, an insulin pump failing for an older adult with diabetes, or a wrong medication for an epileptic patient.
Inadequate cybersecurity isn't just an IT problem; it directly threatens patient safety. With financial data, a credit card can be canceled, and a bank account can be closed. However, healthcare data contains private Social Security numbers, insurance details, medical conditions, and health records, which cannot be canceled or replaced easily. Organizations face significant potential consequences, from massive fines to patient safety risks and consumer trust loss.
A data breach is a significant threat to patient safety. It can alter medication schedules, create incorrect treatment plans, disrupt surgeries, and cause medical devices and equipment to fail.
A cyberattack can shut down hospital systems, delaying critical treatments or surgeries and risking lives. For example, the most significant healthcare data breach was the attack on Change Healthcare's systems in 2024. This breach delayed prescriptions and other healthcare services to patients across the country. 74% of hospitals said that the ransom attack interfered with patient care, and federal reports cited "a direct threat to critically needed patient care."
Healthcare data may also contain comprehensive personal information that often doesn't change. This information can be used, among other means, for medical identity theft to obtain prescription drugs or file fraudulent insurance claims. It's also complicated for individuals to halt medical identity theft, creating a long and highly complex process that often takes years to resolve.
66% of consumers say they would not trust a company following a data breach, and 75% would quickly sever ties in the aftermath of a cybersecurity issue. A data breach damages a company's reputation, especially for an industry that relies on patient-doctor confidentiality and trust.
The cost to repair a healthcare data breach is staggering, hitting $9.77 million in 2024 and doubling the cost of an average cyberattack. Organizations often pay regulatory fines and consumer damages; for example, Anthem paid $48.2 million in penalties after the 2014 data breach caused by phishing emails.
Whether it’s a multi-location private practice or a regional health insurer, healthcare data is not only extremely valuable—it’s often an easy target. The healthcare industry faces significant challenges when adopting modern, secure technology, which puts it even more at risk of ransomware, malware, and other cyberattacks.
Healthcare organizations often have some of the most complex IT infrastructures because of security needs, vast amounts of data, and accessibility. For example, a hospital serves potentially millions of patients with electronic health records, imaging systems, lab operations, pharmacy offices, real-time medical device monitoring, and billing and insurance platforms. These systems must operate seamlessly in real-time with strict data privacy regulations.
Unfortunately, this complexity is easy to target and infiltrate, with large attack surfaces and a lack of dedicated security staff.
Healthcare systems might run on old operating software, lack integration capabilities, and be deeply embedded in costly platforms. Due to complexity and cost, it's difficult for organizations to completely migrate away from these technologies, but it's equally expensive to keep critical systems running on legacy technology.
Unfortunately, attackers can easily exploit unpatched software, backdoor vulnerabilities, third-party vulnerabilities, and weak links in the infrastructure chain.
Healthcare organizations must run 24/7 with immediate access to crucial data. It's hard to take systems offline for maintenance, potentially delaying patch deployment and creating limited downtime windows. Furthermore, in the middle of the night, with limited or tired staff, it might be an ideal time for cybercriminals to attack, knowing human staff might be less vigilant.
Healthcare data is highly valuable to cybercriminals on the black market, roughly ten times more valuable than financial data, credit card details, or bank account information. It's extremely lucrative for cybercriminals to resell this information.
Basic cybersecurity protocols go a long way toward creating a strong first line of defense. Still, these tools are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to improving and maturing your cybersecurity posture.
Unfortunately, healthcare cybersecurity is rapidly advancing, and many organizations—including mid-sized practices and health-adjacent companies—need a long-term strategic partner to tackle new challenges, technologies, and threat vectors.
The healthcare industry faces significant challenges that make cybersecurity easy to push off to next year or not prioritize spending on this expensive line item, leading to potential consequences for healthcare cyber threats. Legacy technology, vast amounts of data, interconnected but disparate systems, and a lack of cybersecurity knowledge in executive leadership leave one of the most vulnerable industries highly exposed.
Working with Vistrada means a strategic cybersecurity advisor with deep experience in compliance, governance, and implementation is on your side. Instead of handing over a generic sheet of security recommendations, Vistrada works with internal teams to develop a specific short-term and long-term roadmap, implement different practices and tools, and help maintain compliance along the way. Patient safety and cybersecurity go hand in hand, so talk to the team at Vistrada to explore different services.