New Research report “Connected Medical Device Security” shows health networks still exposed to significant risk of attack and disruption

Daniel dos Santos | October 28, 2020
Forescout Research Labs analyzed the security of Healthcare Delivery Organizations in 2020, comparing data from the same review in 2019 and found major issues with legacy systems and insufficient segmentation.
The growing number and diversity of devices in HDOs has introduced new cybersecurity risks. The ability to compromise devices and networks and the possibility of monetizing patient data have led to an increase in the number and sophistication of cyberattacks targeting HDOs in recent years. In just the last few weeks, the first death was reported following a ransomware attack on a German hospital and another attack crippled more than 400 hospitals across the United States, Puerto Rico, and United Kingdom. Many hospitals and other healthcare organizations are rapidly expanding their device footprints to meet the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, their critical role in this global crisis also makes them a top target for attackers. The result is a perfect storm that puts the importance of HDO cybersecurity more front and center than ever before.
With this current threat landscape in mind, Forescout Research Labs undertook a project to analyze the status of healthcare network security. Partnering with multiple large HDO organisations to collect full network traffic and analyzing over 3 million devices in Forescout’s Device Cloud, we have outlined our findings in a new report: Connected Medical Device Security: A Deep Dive into Healthcare Networks.
Key findings:
These findings reveal that while HDOs have taken some meaningful steps to better secure their connected devices and networks, there are still several cybersecurity gaps and risks that need to be addressed.
We recommend HDOs prioritize the following best practices to reduce security and operational risk in healthcare networks:
To learn more about the security concerns of Healthcare Delivery Organization networks, download the full report – Connected Medical Device Security: A Deep Dive into Healthcare Networks.
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