Joseph Carson from Delinea comments on ENISA's health sector specific cyber threat landscape report

Joseph Carson from Delinea has commented on the ransomware threat to the sector and the need for this first cyber threat landscape analysis to aid the health sector in becoming cyber resilient.

Impact of infected computers

Joseph Carson, Chief Security Scientist & Advisory CISO at Delinea, "If you are in the healthcare industry, you are typically at a higher risk from pathogen viruses such as COVID-19 or Influenza, but in the past few years, digital viruses have become the new top threat."

"In healthcare, treating sick patients is essential, but unfortunately treating sick computers has also become a top priority due to ransomware attacks. Healthcare providers have become places to treat infected computers."

Ransomware attacks

Ransomware gangs target time-sensitive systems that need a fast response to cyber-attacks"

"IT and security professionals must be ready and prepared to deal with ransomware attacks and deploy strong cybersecurity defences and strategies that reduce the impact and improve healthcare resiliency, that’s according to the latest report from the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, ENISA, which published its first cyber threat landscape report on the healthcare sector."

"Ransomware is such a catastrophic threat that it can inadvertently increase the risk of loss of life if systems are down for a long period, which is why ransomware gangs target time-sensitive systems that need a fast response to cyber-attacks." 

Cyber awareness strategy

"Professionals must become ransomware resilient, using a strong cyber awareness strategy, a ransomware-ready backup and recovery plan, strong access controls with multifactor authentication (MFA), and privileged access security."

"As with one’s health, treating the symptom can be a greater cost than preventing the illness. Don’t wait to become a ransomware victim. Be resilient."