Healthcare organizations must pay millions to resolve ransomware attacks
Healthcare organizations remain attractive targets for ransomware criminals, and these attacks are not only becoming more frequent but also more expensive, with remediation costs averaging $2.57 million – up from $2.2 million last year, new data shows. research.
A Sophos report shows that more than two-thirds (67%) say they will have been victims of a ransomware attack in 2024, up from 60% in 2023.
The complexity and sophistication of attacks is also increasing, as 80% of organizations took more than a week to recover, significantly higher than the 46% reported in 2022.
Vulnerable targets
The healthcare industry has long been a lucrative target for cybercriminals, as organizations tend to hold highly sensitive information and require constant access to ensure patient safety.
Attackers primarily leveraged exploited vulnerabilities and compromised credentials to gain access to the organizations, each accounting for 34% of cases. Criminals didn’t just go after the data. In 95% of the attacks, hackers also went after organizations’ backups. That’s understandable, since a compromised backup means the chance of the ransom being paid is twice as high.
“Unfortunately, cybercriminals have learned that few healthcare organizations are prepared to respond to these attacks, as evidenced by increasingly longer recovery times.” said Chief Technical Officer at Sophos, John Shier.
“These attacks can have enormous consequences, as we have seen this year with major ransomware attacks impacting healthcare and patient care.”
Without huge cybersecurity budgets and often with outdated IT systems, healthcare institutions are exposed. Research shows that as many as 50% of IT systems fall into the ‘legacy’ category, making them vulnerable.
As cybercriminals become increasingly successful and destructive, Shier calls for a more proactive, ‘human-led’ approach to threat detection, calling for continuous monitoring to stay ahead of cybercriminals.