Medigate, a company that provides a clinical device data security and integration platform for the healthcare sector, has launched a research collaboration with CrowdStrike, a supplier of cloud-based endpoint and workload-protection solutions. The companies have released a paper titled “Healthcare IoT Security Operations Maturity—A Rationalized Approach to a New Normal,” which highlights recent cyberattack trends, including a recent increase in ransomware.
The research emphasizes the need for healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) to harden their security infrastructures via a renewed focus on defense fundamentals. Cyberattacks surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report. Multiple sources cited in the paper indicate that roughly 82 percent of health systems experienced some form of Internet of Things (IoT) cyberattack during the past 18 months, 34 percent of which were ransomware-related.
Thirty-three percent of respondents reported that they had paid the demanded ransom, but only 69 percent of those that paid indicated that they’d had their data fully restored. This paper explores the policy debate surrounding ransomware payments in a context that includes emerging cyber-insurance considerations, as well as the fact that no standard for detailing attack restoration costs yet exists.
“Healthcare now understands the reality of the threat and is doing something about it,” said Jonathan Langer, Medigate’s cofounder and CEO, in a prepared statement, “and that’s a good thing. But when faced with all the advanced options promoting layered defense capabilities, we thought it was time to detail a more simplified approach. HDOs require a unified security approach to defend against evolving threat landscapes.”
According to the companies, the report covers various capabilities that health systems should consider in defending their organizations against advanced threats. This includes the benefits of integrating CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform and Medigate’s platform, as well as threat containment and well-scoped insurance coverage.
“As sophisticated threat activity continues to accelerate and the number of medical devices connecting to hospital networks increases, the healthcare industry continues to be a prime target for threat actors,” added Drex DeFord, CrowdStrike’s executive healthcare strategist, in the prepared statement. “HDOs must implement a modern, layered defense strategy that continuously improves visibility, incorporates EDR, and includes containment capabilities so that they can accurately detect, respond to and prevent sophisticated attacks.”
The research explains how to boost visibility and strengthen protection for managed and unmanaged devices in HDO environments, as well as how to recharge existing HDO asset management and security infrastructure systems to create a layered defense. To access the research paper, click here.